


For The Wheel's Still in Spin

by suzvoy



Category: As the World Turns
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Angst and Humor, Falling In Love, Fluff, M/M, Melodrama, Original Character(s), Romance, Soap Opera
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-16
Updated: 2013-11-16
Packaged: 2018-01-01 17:52:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 161,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1046790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suzvoy/pseuds/suzvoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reid Oliver actually came to Oakdale 6 months earlier, for entirely different reasons.</p><p>That didn't make the town in question any less crazy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Finally, I'm getting off my butt and posting my LuRe fic on AO3! I figured I'd start with this one first as a) people were bugging me about it and b) it's the longest, so would be the most annoying to format. Figured I should do the annoying one first ;D This was originally posted on my LJ in 2011, [here](http://suzvoy.livejournal.com/2606706.html). It was also originally posted in 64 parts, but I know no way of replicating this here without spamming the AO3 feed and I don't want to do that ;D Therefore, it's being posted in one big chunk. As a result you may find soap-opera style cliffhangers in the strangest of places ;D It's split into 'chapters' only because I ran out of available character space.
> 
> For those of you who didn't watch ATWT, I don't THINK you need to have seen it, as this is an AU where Reid comes to town earlier than he did on the show - thus, he's introduced to everyone for the first time himself. FYI, almost every major plot point in this story (until we get past the major angst ;D) actually happened on the show. I picked the point I wanted Reid to arrive and ran with the storylines that were happening at the time.
> 
> Definitely a Luke/Reid fic, but there will be some Luke/Noah initially. If you're a Noah fan, I don't think you'll like this story.
> 
> Thank you very, very much to nel_ani, dvswraatins, rhiannonhero, amelialourdes, luvmax1, _alicesprings, mclachlan, inteligrrl, rinmonsterer and von_questenberg for all their encouragement and cheerleading. Title is taken from The Times They Are a-Changin' by Bob Dylan. Feedback would be absolutely wonderful!

It was the end of a long paperwork day - Reid's least favourite kind of day. Though he appreciated the order, the structure of paperwork that had to be studied and annotated closely in order to facilitate his job properly, it was nothing compared to the rush when he was actually in the OR. Frankly, there was nothing like that feeling, nothing that even came close. Paperwork days were a necessary evil, the thing that got him to the place where he could experience that feeling.

As much as Reid was aware of that and was almost thankful for it, he was looking forward to going home and collapsing with a frozen meal and the remote control. Even he'd learned that, from time to time, you just had to switch off.

When his phone buzzed he briefly paused to hit the speaker, then continued writing. "Speak."

He knew who was going to be on the other end of the line. Reid never giave praise lightly but his PA, Susie, was excellent. She'd have to be, for him to actually go the lengths of having a standing order at her favourite florist to have flowers delivered every year on the day that just happened to be her birthday. She was organised, efficient, didn't give a crap what he thought and wasn't afraid of him. It was the best relationship he had with anyone.

Ever.

"He called again," she informed him, her voice conveying the fact that a) she knew he wouldn't like the news and b) she didn't care that he wouldn't like the news.

Like Reid didn't have a million things he should already be attending to. "Did you tell him that I'm unavailable for an 'unidentified mass' look-in for at least the next three months unless he comes here? It's not like I'm running my own neurology centre with my own list of patients a mile long or anything."

"Believe me, I gave him your entire speech, including sarcastic inflections."

Reid knew just how good she was at mimicking him. It should've been effective. "And he still didn't give up."

"There's been a development."

She hesitated, then, which was unusual for Susie. Neither one of them pulled any punches and it actually made him stop writing and look at the phone. Reid frowned. "What is it?"

Susie paused. "They managed to identify the unidentified mass."

Despite himself, Reid felt intrigued. He loosened his hold on the pen. "Well, what is it?"

When he heard the news, Reid stayed in town only as long as it took to re-schedule everything that wasn't about to kill someone, then boarded the first flight to Oakdale.

Susie had done her research so the town was about as small as he expected, yet somehow felt much smaller. Admittedly, he didn't actually get to see that much of it as he went straight from the airport to Memorial Hospital, but as the cab driver too helpfully told him they were driving 'straight to the heart' of Oakdale and the journey took all of five minutes, Reid drew his own conclusions. For such a small town the hospital was actually somewhat impressive-looking and he pounced on the first member of staff he saw after stepping through the automatic doors.

"You," he addressed a nurse, whose smile faltered for some reason. "I'm here to see Bob Hughes. He's expecting me. Where can I find him?"

"Dr Oliver?" a male voice asked and Reid turned, abandoning the nurse to face a guy who was sixty if he was a day. "I'm so glad you could make it out here," he said congenially, holding a hand out. "I know how busy you are and we really appreciate-"

"Yeah, look," Reid interrupted, because he was obviously talking to Dr Hughes now and they had things to _do_. "I am busy, so let's just get on with it. Obviously I've gone over the images you e-mailed to my assistant but I'd prefer to see hard-copies." Reid was all for moving with the times, using the absolute latest technology - he pioneered neurological technology and techniques at his own centre - but there was something about results he could hold in his hands that just couldn't be replicated on a computer.

Barely raising his eyebrows, Dr Hughes smoothly changed his attempt at a handshake into a gesture to the right. "This way, then, Dr Oliver."

Five minutes later, Reid was staring intently at the images hanging from a light box on the wall.

Incredible. After the initial scans, they'd managed to get the patient into a more advanced machine and it really did look like...

"No one's gone in yet?"

"No," Dr Hughes replied, "our own neurologist, Dr Channing-"

Reid knew of him, but he'd disappeared off Reid's radar years ago. "That deli slicer?"

"As I was saying," Dr Hughes continued, ignoring the remark, "he wanted to wait until these results came in, following procedure, and once he saw what...it appeared to be, he didn't think he had the capability or expertise to remove something this unusual."

Reid snorted. "You mean he didn't want the lawsuit." There was no way in hell Reid was missing out on this opportunity, resulting lawsuit or not. "How soon can I get into an OR?" He finally tore his gaze away from the images to see that Dr Hughes seemed pleased at the question - before his expression flattened out.

"There's something we need to take care of first."

*

Reid was in one of the nine circles of hell. That was the only explanation for the clusterfuck he found himself in the middle of. He was surrounded by three women and while he didn't have the vaguest clue what any of their names were, he had been able to determine from their histrionics alone that one of them was the patient's mother, one was his girlfriend and one was his wife, or ex-wife.

His issue with them wasn't that they were women. His issue with them was that they were idiots.

Dr Hughes certainly wasn't helping. His earlier attempts at keeping everyone calm had been completely over-ridden by the pointless, constant arguing between the three of them and he'd been relegated to watching from the corner of the room while the arguing continued. Reid didn't get paid enough to put up with this level of idiocy - and he was paid a considerable amount - so he promptly put an end to it with a loud, shrill whistle.

A talent he'd gained in college, courtesy of a boyfriend who knew some extremely useful breathing exercises.

All three women were gaping at him, but at least they'd shut up. Reid focused on the only one who mattered right now - the mother. "You," he began, "moron."

Her gaping grew even more pronounced. "I _beg_ your _pardon?_ "

Reid rolled his eyes. Of all the things to focus on at the moment...she really was a moron. "Look, I can beg your pardons later on, when your son is not lying in a hospital bed, recovering from an explosion _and_ the fact that he apparently has a _microchip embedded in his brain_."

Snapping her mouth shut, she finally turned her attention from anyone else in the room. "You really think you can do this? Of course I want this thing removed from Paul's head - his father's legacy has lived on long enough as it is," she said with distaste, like that statement meant anything to Reid. "But Steve was really quite unsure-"

"Steve?"

"Dr Channing," Dr Hughes offered from his corner.

"Of course," Reid sighed. "I wouldn't trust Steve Channing to clip off a hang-nail, let alone perform brain surgery. He doesn't want to take the chance that he'll screw up. Now, who knows? That might be the right thing to do. But it could also be that this thing in your son's head is what's keeping him from waking up." Her eyes widened, as if she hadn't considered that possibility. "It seems I'm the only one willing to give this a shot and, since his life is not in immediate danger, I'm not just going to dive in. This kind of surgery takes time to plan, exactly where to cut, how deep, what tools to use, calculating the risk factors. But the sooner I can get started, the sooner we can get this thing out of your son's head. And, apparently," he continued, because it was worth a shot, "remove this part of his 'father's legacy' forever. Whatever that means."

That did seem to cinch the deal. Back straightening, she met his gaze. "Bob," she announced, not looking away from Reid, "get the paperwork ready. And if either of you two," she continued, glancing at the other two women with disgust, "try to intervene-"

"For once, Barbara," the blonde one interrupted, stepping closer as she folded her arms across her chest, "we're in complete agreement about something. The sooner we get that thing out of his head, the better. I can only hope that having that _thing_ in his head explains some of his..." she glanced at the third woman, "...less desirable behaviour."

"Oh, please," snapped the third woman, a brunette, "pretty words coming from the woman who _shot him in the back_."

And that was Reid's cue to leave. "Bob," he began, amused now at the the sound of that name rolling off his own tongue as he advanced towards the other man. "I'm going to need caffeine, and not the swill that passes for it in hospitals across America. I mean real, good, actual coffee. Anywhere in this one-horse town that's capable of that?"

As it turned out, Oakdale wasn't a one-horse town. It was, however, a one-coffee shop town. Grateful for the chance to escape the insanity currently occurring in the hospital waiting room, Reid headed straight for it.

When he arrived - all of three minutes later - _Java_ certainly smelt like it could produce a half-decent cup of coffee, so Reid was almost feeling optimistic as he walked towards the counter and waited behind the people in front of him.

That was when the arguing started. Reid couldn't help but wonder if there was something in the water as he watched the two men sitting at a table - obviously lovers - get more and more agitated with each other. As ridiculous as it was, there was also a small part of him that was almost pleased they were so obviously together and so obviously arguing in front of people. Reid wasn't an activist by any stretch of the imagination, but it gave him an admittedly small amount of hope that Oakdale wasn't a complete lost cause. If two gay guys could air their relationship issues in public, without fear of reprisal, then Oakdale had to have something going for it.

Somewhere.

Plus, they were both pretty hot in their own ways, and made attractive viewing while he waited to be served.

They weren't being circumspect at all and pretty soon the entire place was listening in as the blond one - Luke - was derided for his career choices by the other one, Noah. Reid started frowning.

"Well, what happens when I'm done with the project?" Noah asked. "What happens when I graduate? I thought we were gonna move to New York together - how is that gonna happen if you're working for Damian?"

"Well, that's the great thing about this job," Luke replied eagerly, genuinely happy. "Grimaldi Shipping Lines' main office is on Fifth Avenue. So I can work there, while you work on becoming the next Scorsese. Another great thing about the job? There's tons of travel opportunities. You can come with me - we can see the world!" He sounded so pleased, so hopeful. He probably collected pink, fluffy bunnies and gave them all cute nicknames like Starshine and FuzzyFace.

"Not if I'm still at school, we won't," Noah replied darkly.

Reid frowned even deeper as Luke's enthusiasm physically deflated out of his body.

"What can I get you?" A bored voice asked from behind Reid and he turned to see the barista staring at him. Entertaining though the sideshow had been, it was nothing to do with him and Reid tried to focus back on what he'd come for. By the time he had his drink and his change, another man had arrived at the table. Trying to decide what kind of idiot wore scarves in the middle of summer, Reid shook his head and headed for the small table near the exit, loaded with supplies. Popping the lid off his coffee, Reid picked up a stirrer, using it in his drink. Despite himself, he swivelled back around just as Luke stomped away from the table, towards the exit. Unable to stop himself - and not wanting to, frankly - Reid snorted, rolling his eyes.

Luke noticed him, stopping just a few feet away and fixing him with a glare. "Having fun laughing at the gay guys, are you?"

Now that _was_ funny. "Right," Reid said dryly, "if I'm laughing at you, it must be because you're gay. Not because you're idiots." Far more involved than he'd intended on being - in fact, being involved at all was far more involved that he'd intended on being - Reid tossed the stirrer in the trash and walked out of the shop. It was none of his business in the first place, no matter how entertaining it'd turned out to be.

Reid made it as far as the bench resting in the middle of the shopping centre when someone called out, "Hey! Rude guy with the coffee!"

Pausing, drink raised to his lips, Reid turned slowly to see Luke walking towards him. Sighing, he lowered his drink. "Seriously? Are you following me now?"

"I'm not the one who thought it was okay to butt his nose into somebody elses' personal life as if he had a right to comment on it."

Reid stared at him, disbelieving. "Are you actually not seeing the irony between that statement and what you're doing right now? I mean, are you actually that dumb? By the way, if you don't want people to comment on your personal lives, I suggest you stop making your personal lives so public. Also, just so we're clear," he continued, before Luke could get a word in edgewise, "it was because you're idiots, not because you're gay. I can be accused of many things, but homophobia isn't one of them."

Clearly regaining his equilibrium, Luke folded his arms across his chest. "I'm surprised you even bothered to point that out."

To be honest, so was Reid. "I'm a jerk," he said bluntly, "but I deserve to be called a jerk for the things I actually do, not because you're overly-defensive about your sexuality."

"Oh my God," Luke replied quickly, gesturing madly towards Reid with his right hand, "you're-gah!"

Reid - very, very carefully - didn't smile. "And you're articulate."

Luke must have found something entertaining in that because despite his frustration, he lowered his arm and a small smile appeared on his lips. It wasn't long, however, before it vanished again and Luke studied him intently. "What did you mean about us being idiots?"

Shrugging, Reid sipped at his coffee. "Noah's an idiot for treating you like crap, and you're an idiot for taking it."

Face reddening with indignation, Luke sputtered out a few words. "Noah does _not_ -"

"I'm just saying what I saw," Reid replied calmly, instead of going straight back to the hospital. "The entire time I was in that place, every time you tried to placate him, soothe him, make him happy, he shot you down. Like he was just looking for excuses to upset you."

Looking seriously confused, Luke stared off to one side. "But-"

"All I'm saying is that I'm a miserable bastard," Reid pointed out, starting to feel vaguely unsettled. "I don't like anything. I don't like _you_ , so if _I_ think he was treating you badly, maybe there's something to it." Clearing his throat, not knowing why, Reid gestured in the general direction of the hospital. "You asked, I answered. Let's not do this again."

Turning away, Reid made a rapid retreat, trying to figure out why he was making a rapid retreat in the first place.

*

Fortunately for Reid, the next few days were nothing but work. It really was a fascinating case, despite the town the patient was in, and it would be another first for Dr Reid Oliver. He was quite sure Paul Ryan wasn't the first person to ever have a microchip inserted into his brain for non-medical reasons - human beings were just that twisted - but it would probably be the first not to be covered up by its respective government.

Reid had certainly had time to wonder why anyone would do anything so ridiculous. From all accounts, the patients' birth father, James Stenbeck, had been a real piece of work, ruining the lives of everyone he knew and enjoying every minute of it. According to the rumours he'd heard flying around the hospital, this was just his MO. It took some swallowing, even for Reid. He'd never had a close relationship with his parents but this took family dysfunction to a whole other level.

Wanting coffee but electing not to go to _Java_ , Reid left the room - closet, really - he'd been assigned by Bob, contemplating trying out the local diner several people had recommended. So far he'd been living on room service and hospital cafeteria food - neither choice particularly inspiring - and he was beginning to feel the urge to try something different.

And when he thought 'different' he actually meant 'something for people who actually had taste buds'.

"Luke!"

Jerking at the sudden noise, Reid turned to see the man in question being welcomed cheerfully by Bob. They greeted each other effusively, prompting a huge, pleased smile from Luke.

"Any problems?" Bob asked, gesturing to Luke's legs.

"You ask that every time, Bob," Luke replied, smiling even as he shook his head. "I haven't been paralysed for _years_ now."

Reid's eyes went wide. Was everyone in this town _insane?_

"Anyway, it's not a check-up," Luke continued, as his gaze moved away from Bob and scanned the general area. "I'm here to meet-" He stopped, cold, when his gaze landed on Reid.

Reid thought about looking away.

He didn't.

Something must have happened at some point because Bob was guiding Luke towards him. "Luke, this is Dr Reid Oliver, the specialist we've brought it-"

"For Paul," Luke nodded slowly, still not looking away from Reid. He held out a hand.

"That's right," Bob agreed. "Reid, this is Luke Snyder."

Taking Luke's hand, Reid shook it slowly. There was something about that name that sounded familiar. "Snyder...?"

"Ah," Bob said quietly. "Meg."

"Meg Snyder is my aunt," Luke explained and it snapped into place. Though he'd been doing everything to avoid them, by now Reid had absorbed the names of all the women who seemed to be involved with Paul Ryan purely by osmosis.

"Lucky you," Reid replied sardonically.

Luke's expression pinched into something unpleasant just as a nurse approached Bob and spoke to him quietly. Excusing himself, Bob rushed off somewhere leaving Reid alone with Luke.

Luke just kept _looking_ at him and, uncomfortable, Reid made a point of looking at their still-joined hands.

Flushing, Luke quickly tugged his hand out of Reid's. "Sorry," he explained, "I was just thinking...I owe you a thank you."

 _That_ Reid had not been expecting. "What have I ever done for you?"

"What you said the other day," Luke said awkwardly. "It made me think. My whole family is kind of..." he gestured with his left hand "...insane and I'm so used to doing what keeps them happy that I didn't realise I was doing the same thing with Noah. Um," he paused, suddenly, as if he realised he might've said too much. "Well, I'd never really thought about that before; the reasons behind it. And I told Noah that it was _my_ career and we'd make compromises if it came down to it, but I wasn't going to abandon it just on his say so. So...you know. Thanks." Hooking his thumbs into the back pockets of his jeans, Luke rocked on the balls of his feet.

And smiled.

For one horrible moment, Reid actually thought Luke was going to punch him on the arm or something. "I'm not your personal Agony Aunt."

Undeterred, Luke chuckled. "Never said you were. I was just saying thank you. Can't take a compliment?" he teased.

"About my medical skills, sure," Reid retorted. Quite frankly, other than following some kind of surgical procedure, no one ever said thank you to him. About anything. He never did anything that warranted a thank you.

"Well, there's a human being in there somewhere, not just a doctor," Luke continued, grinning. "And this human being says thank you very much."

Luke just kept _smiling_ and just as Reid was beginning to feel _ridiculous_ for no good reason, he was saved by the arrival of someone new.

"Luke, my man," Casey Hughes greeted, throwing an arm around Luke's shoulder, "I'll be right with...oh," his voice tapered off as he recognised who Luke was talking to. Reid had already met Casey several times. The first time due to Bob proudly introducing his grandson (Reid had thought the Hughes family really didn't say much for nepotism if the best job Bob could get for Casey was janitor); the times after that had been more literal run-ins - usually between Reid and Casey's mop. Words had been exchanged, and they hadn't been pleasant.

"So, uh," Casey began, "is Dr O joining us for lunch, or-?"

"No!" Reid and Luke both rushed to say, talking over each other.

"Oh, oh, good!" Casey replied quickly, before realising how that sounded. Reid didn't give a crap, but Casey plainly did. "I mean, that's too bad. A real shame. Luke?" He turned his face towards Luke as he started marching him away from Reid. "What do you feel like for lunch?"

"Chilli," Luke replied, his voice plainly amused, "chilli and cornbread."

"Fine with me, man," Casey agreed, "but if you let one go in the diner, you're not blaming it on me again."

Watching them go, Reid realised he could really go for some chilli and cornbread.

He went to the cafeteria instead, and ate three slices of soggy apple pie.

*

Reid had made every preparation he could. Studied all the variables from every perspective he could. Ultimately, there was only so much prep work any surgeon could put in and, eventually, you just had to get in there and do it.

He didn't get nervous before surgery - hadn't for years - but that didn't mean he wasn't very aware of the responsibility being placed on his shoulders. Although the people meant nothing to him they came to him alive, if damaged. It was his personal responsibility to ensure that, when they left the OR, their life was an improvement over their life before the surgery. Sometimes that didn't happen. Sometimes nothing he did could help. Sometimes patients died. He didn't like it - he didn't know any surgeon who did - but it happened.

So he might joke about it sometimes, but Reid took surgery extremely seriously. And removing a microchip that'd been planted there by the patient's evil father?

Yeah, he was definitely taking this seriously.

There'd only been so much he'd been able to see on the scans about brain growth around the microchip and exactly where the blood flow was going. The family - and Paul Ryan's harem - had been warned about all the things that could go wrong. Death, sudden personality changes, anuerysms, brain damage resulting in disability, memory gaps, the patient suddenly not being able to perform simple tasks they'd been able to perform before. Just before the surgery, Barbara Ryan had looked him straight in the eye and said firmly,

"Get that piece of trash out of my son's head, doctor. He wouldn't want it in there. Whatever it takes, get it out."

Reid found himself starting to respect her. He hoped the feeling wouldn't last.

He also couldn't help but notice that when she said the word 'trash', she glanced over at Meg and Emily.

In the end, the surgery went as well as Reid suspected a microchip removal could go. The patient didn't die and Reid had to make minimal incisions into the brain. He relayed this information to the family as efficiently as possible and put up with their questions with has much grace as he could manage - which was never very much.

"No," Reid grit his teeth, "I made it clear before the surgery that we didn't know if this would make him wake-up or not, but given that his brain has just undergone another trauma - albeit as beautifully handled as possible - he still won't be waking anytime soon. All we can do is wait. Now might be a good time to take up a new hobby."

"A new _hobby?_ " Emily asked, disbelieving.

"Sure," Reid replied, "maybe you could start collecting baseball cards, or - I know! Create dioramas of historic scenes from Oakdale's past. Something interesting must have happened here once upon a time - a horse pulling a cart, for example. A farmer shucking some corn. Nothing too racy, though," he finished, winking at Meg as he walked away.

Bob found him five minutes later, changing out of his scrubs in the changing room. He hesitated in the doorway.

"Sorry, Dr Oliver, do you need some privacy or-?"

"It's fine, Bob," Reid interrupted, doing up the last button on his shirt. "Do you need something?"

"Well, first to say congratulations on a job well done," Bob replied, stepping further into the room and holding the door open for someone behind him.

Reid eyed the woman who stepped into view, still tucking his shirt into his jeans. "It's my job."

"Also," Bob continued, turning towards the newcomer, "Dr Reid Oliver, I'd like you to meet Detective Margo Hughes of the Oakdale Police Department - and my daughter-in-law. She's looking into this business with the microchip."

Another Hughes? "Is everyone in this town related?"

"Only 50% of the time," Detective Hughes joked, holding out a hand. "I'd like to ask you a few questions."

Picking his wristwatch up from the table, Reid started putting it on. "If you must."

Lowering her hand, Detective Hughes glanced briefly at Bob before focusing back on Reid. "I was hoping you might be able to tell us something about how long the microchip has been in Paul Ryan's brain."

"You mean was there a date stamped on it?" Reid asked, amused. "The brain isn't an exact science, Detective, so there's no way to know for sure. What I can tell you is that there was old scarring on the brain, around the microchip, that'd had time to heal - so it's been there at least a few years. However, there was minimal growth of the brain around the microchip, so it had to be inserted into his brain after the patient reached full maturity."

"So Paul Ryan had to have already been a fully grown man when someone did this to him," Detective Hughes concluded.

Reid nodded. "I believe that's what I just said. The brain doesn't keep growing in size when the rest of our bodies stop growing - otherwise it wouldn't fit inside our skulls," he pointed out. "Frankly, I'm amazed that this Paul Ryan was as coherent as he apparently was before the explosion happened." When she stared at him, he quickly continued. "This thing wasn't just resting on top of his brain, or attached as part of some medical procedure; it was embedded. Someone had cut away part of his brain. Sure, it was a small part - it was a small microchip - but part of the brain was still removed, nonetheless. The nerve cells in the brains - neurons - once they die, that's it. They don't heal themselves, they don't regenerate. Once nerve cells die, they die." There was something absolute about that that Reid appreciated.

Detective Hughes contemplated his words. "Doctor, in your expert opinion, was this... _procedure_ performed by someone who had medical knowledge?"

"Without a doubt, whoever did this knew what they were doing," Reid replied. "It wasn't sloppy work - not as good as mine, of course, but definitely not sloppy. The scarring was minimal and the cuts were clearly precise. Whoever did this definitely had detailed medical knowledge of the brain. From the look of their work, I'd say this wasn't the first time they'd performed this exact procedure, either."

"There's a cheery thought," Detective Hughes muttered, before putting her game face back on. "Well, Doctor, thank you very much for your time - you've been incredibly helpful. If it comes to it, I hope we can rely on your expert testimony in court."

Oh, what a joyous experience _that_ would be. "Depends when it is, whose brain I'm cutting into at the time and if I'm actually legally required to be there."

"Well," she said, clearly not expecting that reaction. "Thank you anyway."

"Whatever," Reid shrugged, turning away to pick his wallet up and slip it into his back pocket.

Margo Hughes made herself scarce pretty quickly, and soon it was just him and Bob.

"So, Dr Oliver," Bob smiled at him, "what's the next step?"

Tugging his jacket from the chair he'd draped it over, Reid shrugged it on. "The next step is for me to contact the airport and find out which flight can get me back to Dallas ASAP."

Bob's smiled dipped. "You're not staying?"

This was too easy. "Bob," Reid began seriously, placing a hand on Bob's shoulder and searching his eyes, "we meant a lot to each other, but you knew it was never going to last. Not only do we come from different worlds, we come from different time periods."

Stiffening, Bob crossed his arms. "Very funny, Dr Oliver."

Chuckling darkly, Reid dropped his arm. "Look, I said from the start, I'd only stay as long as was necessary. I'll stay overnight, make sure there are no unforseen issues, but that's it. There's nothing else I can do for him and I have a career in Dallas to get back to." With all the explanation necessary given, Reid brushed by Bob, heading for the exit.

"Just a career?" Bob asked unexpectedly.

Turning around, just before the door, Reid frowned at him. "What?"

"You said you had a career to get back to," Bob explained carefully. "Not a life?"

Reid's irritation spiked. "Like I said, I have a career to get back to." Turning away again, he grabbed the door handle.

"It's long been my experience," Bob said behind him, making Reid pause despite himself, "that one is not worth having without the other."

Huffing, Reid yanked open the door. It seemed Luke Snyder wasn't the only sentimental fool in this town. In fact, it was starting to look like the Luke Snyder's of Oakdale were the rule, not the exception.

*

The attendant at the _Oakdale Air_ desk - Reid had no idea how a town this small had its own airport, never mind its own airline - had cheerfully informed him that the next flight to Dallas was tomorrow at 3:15pm and she was easily able to get him a seat. It was perfect timing for Reid - he'd have enough time the next day to check on Paul Ryan's progress before packing up his few personal belongings and heading for the airport.

Satisfied that everything seemed to be coming together exactly as planned, Reid returned to his hotel room, shaking off the restlessness he'd been fighting since that ridiculous conversation with Bob. Settled into his room, he called Susie for an update and to pass on his schedule. They exchanged a few barbs and, after that, he sat down with his laptop to continue with the paper he'd started writing the night before. Mysterious microchip removal was too good an opportunity to pass up.

Two hours later, Reid un-hunched himself from over the laptop and stood, stretching his arms above his head. He was definitely starting to feel hungry but after a quick, familiar perusal of the room service menu, Reid decided to at least venture out of his room. Generally he preferred his own company, but sometimes even Reid wanted to be surrounded by people - even if he didn't actually want to interact with them.

Five minutes later, he stepped into the _Lakeview_ dining area. He'd passed through it a few times but never eaten there, and right now it looked busier than he'd ever seen it. Typical.

A well-dressed woman approached. "Are you looking for a table, sweetheart? I have one that just opened up."

Pleased at the news, Reid didn't even launch into a diatribe about his hatred of pet names. A few minutes later, he was sitting at a table with a cup of coffee within reach and the full restaurant menu in his hands. Reid was busy analysing the appetisers - surely potato skins missed the point of potatoes entirely - when a voice intruded.

"Don't miss out on the barbecued chicken wings," it said, and Reid knew it was Luke before he even looked up. Sure enough, when he did look up, Luke was smiling at him from where he was standing at the other side of the table. He was wearing dark suit pants and a bright blue shirt that Reid found surprisingly distracting. "It's busier than I thought it'd be and I didn't think to make a reservation. Do you mind if I sit here while I wait?"

Reid eyed him, calculating the possibility of the two of them randomly running into each other again. "Are you sure you're not following me, Mr Snyder?" Luke apparently took that as an invitation, because he pulled out the chair across from Reid and sat down. "Oh my God, you're sitting down."

The corners of Luke's eyes crinkled even more as he made himself comfortable. "Sorry to disappoint your ego, but I'm actually here to meet my father for dinner. Well," he amended, "biological father. The new job, you know." Too busy analysing the words that'd just come out of Luke's mouth, Reid just stared at him until Luke was forced to explain. "I have two Dad's."

That he had not been expecting. "Oakdale's more progressive than I thought. So, being gay is inherited in your case?" he joked, placing the menu to one side. "I bet there's a whole baseball team of Gay Snyder's."

Laughing once, then laughing some more, Luke shook his head dramatically. "No, no, that's _really_ not..." He sobered a little. "That's a really strange image." Shaking his head as it to clear it, he smiled again as he focused back on Reid. "Mom and Damian were married and had me the, uh, 'traditional' way, but later she married Holden Snyder - my adoptive father. And my real dad, if I'm honest."

Reid wondered why Luke was telling him all this. More frustratingly, he wondered why he didn't tell Luke to stop. Feigning disinterest, Reid concentrated on the spoon he was using to stir sugar into his coffee. "But you have a good relationship with your sperm donor?" When Luke gave him a look, either for the sperm donor comment or wondering why Reid was asking, Reid chose to believe it was for the latter. "You're working for him, right? At that shipping company?"

Plainly amused at something, Luke planted his elbow on the table and propped his chin up on his hand. "Wow, Dr Oliver, you really were paying attention to that argument."

Reid rolled his eyes pointedly. "It's hard not to pay attention when you're innocently waiting for a cup of coffee and two morons start yelling at each other right in front of you."

Luke ignored him. "And that was - what? Five days ago? And you still remember?"

He really wasn't in the least bit entertaining. At all. "The curse of a photographic memory," Reid acknowledged, lifting his drink.

The teasing stopped, replaced by instant fascination. "Really?" Luke asked quickly. "That's so cool! Do you remember everything you see and hear, or is there a limit? Is all this information right _there_ all the time, or do you have to think about it, like rifling through a mental filing cabinet? Is that why you went into neurosurgery?"

Reid stared at him, drink frozen halfway to his mouth, feeling assaulted with palpable joy from all sides. It was a bizarre feeling. "Are you on drugs?" That kind of exhuberance had to be medically induced.

Flushing, Luke lifted his chin from his hand and sat back. "Sorry. I'm...I was a writer, and I'm still fascinated sometimes by what makes makes people tick. And," he continued, starting to smile again, "for your information, I _am_ on drugs, although nothing that would make me high. Immunosuppresants," he declared, tapping a hand towards one side of his body, "kidney transplant at fifteen."

Reid couldn't help but _keep_ staring. "No, really, are you on drugs?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?" He didn't know where to start. "You have two Dad's, you're - what, 20?"

"21," Luke replied.

"21 and you've already had a kidney transplant, been paralysed due to God know's what-"

"You know about that?" Luke frowned. "Anyway, I fell down a hill. After Noah's dad tried to kill me."

That actually made Reid pause. For all of one second. "Your boyfriend's dad tried to kill you, you're openly gay which usually isn't easy for anyone, let alone a kid from a small town at the ass-end of nowhere, by your own admission your family is 'insane'," Reid used the fingers on his free hand to make speech marks, "you have a selfish, domineering boyfriend-"

"Hey!"

"-and instead of moping and feeling sorry for yourself, you're stupidly optimistic about everything and I don't think I've seen you smile for less than five seconds the entire time I've been in your presence." His piece said, Reid finally lowered his drink back down to your table.

"So what's your point?" Luke asked, not looking in the least bit impressed. "Or did you just list all the crappy things that've happened to me for the fun of it?"

"My point, Mr Snyder," Reid replied slowly, "is that you either have to be on drugs, or-" He stopped, actually letting himself think about where that sentence was going.

"Or?" Luke prompted, clearly frustrated yet curious to know what he'd intended on saying.

What the hell? "Just that your attitude towards life is...admirable."

Blinking heavily, obviously surprised, Luke slouched back in his chair. "Oh."

Reid was kind of surprised, too. "Too many people give up when something bad happens - lose all their drive. The fact that you haven't - apparently time and time again - is something to be admired."

"Oh," Luke repeated, shifting around in his chair and generally looking pleased but uncomfortable.

Reid wasn't sure why, but he was feeling pretty pleased but uncomfortable that he'd made Luke feel that way, too.

"Thank you," Luke blurted out suddenly. "I mean, that's really nice of you to say. Do you even usually give compliments?" he asked, chuckling, obviously feeling more at ease.

"No," Reid pursed his lips together, tipping his head to one side. "But I appreciate success. So appreciate the moment."

"Oh I will, believe me," Luke grinned. "Anyway, like I said, thank you, but...I'm really not as well-adjusted as you seem to think I am."

That was no doubt true. "Who is?"

"I know I have a lot of faults," Luke rambled on. "I don't know how Noah puts up with me."

Freezing for a moment, Reid continued speaking with deceptive casualness. "Why's that? Take too long in the bathroom doing your hair?"

"Ha ha," Luke snarked. "No. I just...really like taking care of people, you know? And Noah doesn't like being taken care of. I think it's the way he grew up - he got used to looking after himself. I worry that I suffocate him sometimes. Like, right now, for example," he continued, obviously eager for someone to talk to. "We finally have a place together but we never see each other. He's always off working on this film project of his - which I know is really important, don't get me wrong - but he's always with his advisor, Mason, and we see each other less now than when we lived apart. I just..." sighing, he looked off to one side. "I really like spending evenings together, you know? Eating, relaxing together. Talking things out if we've had a bad day. Just _being_ with each other. I can't even remember the last time Noah and I fell asleep together, instead of him creeping in at three in the morning."

It took Reid no time at all to reach two conclusions:

Luke Snyder was a hopeless romantic.

Noah Mayer was an idiot.

Sighing again, Luke focused his attention back on Reid - and only then, seemed to realise everything he'd just said. "I don't know why I'm telling you all this," he said quietly, shifting in his chair. "You're right, you're not my personal Agony Aunt. I shouldn't have-"

"Stop apologising," Reid interrupted. "If I was bored, I would've told you to stop talking."

"Oh...kay," Luke said carefully, before forcing some cheer onto his face. "Just part of living with a director, I guess. Lots of people are obsessed with their work. I bet living with a neurosurgeon's no walk in the park," he grinned. "All those long hours spent in surgery. Emergency calls getting you out of bed in the middle of the night. Must be difficult finding someone who can cope with that."

Reid could imagine that it might be, but he had no practical knowledge. "I wouldn't know."

Luke stared at him with wide eyes. "Really?"

"Nothing serious. Like you said," Reid shrugged, "lots of people are obsessed with their work. I find saving lives more important than romantic entanglements."

"I guess I can see some logic in that," Luke pondered, "but I can't imagine not wanting to be with someone, at least some of the time. Whether it's a guy or a girl," he finished, gesturing towards Reid.

Reid found it profoundly amusing the way Luke covered all bases. "Guy," he corrected.

Those wide eyes were back. And very still. "You never said anything."

"I may be out, but, unlike you, I don't go around announcing my personal business at every opportunity. Besides," he rested the thumb and index finger of his right hand against the rim of his cup, meeting Luke's gaze, "is there any reason I should have said anything?"

Before Luke could reply, someone stepped up to their table.

"Luciano?"

Oh, that was too good. " _Luciano?_ " Reid mimicked.

"Shut up," Luke hissed, quickly shoving back his chair and getting to his feet. "Damian, hi," Luke greeted warmly.

Damian - the bio-dad, Reid remembered - looked between them and continued speaking in a heavy accent. Italian, most likely. "If I'm intruding, Luciano, we can always reschedule-"

"No, Damian, it's fine," Luke explained. "Reid was just leaving."

"Uh, no he isn't," Reid argued. "This is his table, not yours."

Rolling his eyes as if _Reid_ was being the inconvenient one, Luke gestured between them. "Damian, Dr Reid Oliver. Reid, Damian Grimaldi. Dr Oliver is-"

"Ah, yes," Damian interrupted, holding a hand out towards him. "The expert brought in to help Paul Ryan with that strange microchip business."

Shaking his hand, Reid studied Damian Grimaldi and could immediately see that he was being studied just as equally. He didn't stand up. "You're remarkably well-informed."

"It's a small town," Damian replied with a too-pleasant smile.

"On that, we can agree," Reid nodded, extracting his hand from Damian's. As it turned out, Luke got that staring thing from his biological father.

"I hope Mr Ryan's treatment has been proceeding well."

"Exceedingly," Reid offered, then changed tacks. "So, you're Luke's dad. Luke and I were just discussing the long list of horrible things that've happened to him in his short life. Is it a genetic trait, or does he just have that much bad luck?"

For some reason, Luke looked concerned. "Damian, I didn't say anything about-"

"It's okay, Luciano," Damian told him kindly. "As I've told you before, we need to embrace our mistakes to learn from them. Myself included." He turned back towards Reid, who was definitely intrigued by now. "Yes, Dr Oliver, my son has been through a great deal for one so young. I'm extremely proud of his strength of character. I put him through much myself, and I can only be thankful that he's given me a second chance."

Reid looked at them blankly.

Luke sighed. "When I first came out, Damian tried to send me to a straight camp."

Of course he did. It seemed Luke Snyder had the worst luck of anyone he'd ever met. "Something else to add to the list," Reid muttered.

"If you don't mind my asking, Luciano, how do you and Dr Oliver know each other?" From the way he was looking at them, Damian seemed fascinated by the answer.

"We don't, not really," Luke answered truthfully, smiling softly as he glanced over at Reid. "We just keep bumping into each other."

"And then you keep telling me your life story," Reid added, although there was no heat to his words - which annoyed him greatly.

"Ah, I believe I see a table opening up," Damian suddenly announced. "And there's Lisa. We don't need to intrude on Dr Oliver's generosity any longer."

"I really wasn't being generous," he pointed out.

Damian ignored him. "Luciano?"

"Sure," Luke agreed, stepping free of the table and pushing his chair back in. Waiting until Damian had walked away, he then quickly leant in towards Reid.

Reid blinked, surprised.

"By the way?" Luke said too-sweetly. "Last year, my new Grandfather kissed me. Noah married an Iraqi girl to help her get a green card. And I've been kidnapped. Twice!" With one last grin, he spun away and out of Reid's field of vision.

Running his finger over the rim of his coffee cup, Reid very deliberately didn't smile.

Much.

*

The next morning found Reid waking up in a bad mood. He usually woke in a bad mood but this was even worse than usual because he was forced to admit, at least to himself, his attraction to Luke Snyder - mostly because his dreams had been full of Luke Snyder. The really annoying thing was that, while he usually had a photographic memory, when it came to his dreams they vanished almost as soon as he remembered them. There was always some vague recollection of what he'd dreamt about, but rarely anything specific. It was bad enough that he knew he'd engaged in dream sex with Luke. It was even worse that he knew he'd engaged in dream sex with Luke and _couldn't remember any of the details._

After a short, frustrated hand-job in the shower (during which his mind flashed up a sudden image of Luke jerking him off and he couldn't determine if it was a memory from the dream or pure wishful thinking), Reid decided that what he really needed before going to the hospital was a caramel latte from _Java_. Mood slightly improved at the thought of decent coffee and whatever baked good he'd purchase for breakfast, Reid washed, dressed and told himself that the odds of running into Luke again were so astronomically high that they didn't even bear thinking of.

He didn't run into Luke. Sitting on the bench in the middle of what he now knew the locals called _Old Town_ , Reid found something much more irritating.

"I can't believe we filmed all night again," Noah laughed, obviously pleased despite the prominent bags under his eyes.

The guy sitting next to him - probably his advisor, although Luke had mentioned nothing about an improbable scarf - leant towards him, throwing an arm around Noah's shoulder. "I know it can really take it out of you, getting your body to adjust to the different hours you need to work sometimes - but trust me, Noah. Night is definitely the right medium for this scene. It's going to look incredible and will have a much bigger impact on the audience."

Lapping it up, Noah just kept smiling. "God knows I need this," he raised his right hand, holding a paper cup which had the _Java_ symbol emblazoned on the side. "I'm supposed to start work in fifteen minutes."

Mason kept his arm just where it was. "Are you sure...Luke's okay with how little time you're spending with each other lately? You know I don't want anything to affect your relationship. It can be hard for partners to cope with a..." he paused, as if he was thinking about what he was going to say next. Reid suspected Mason already knew exactly what he was going to say. "...a change in priorities."

Reid squinted, hiding out by an antique shop.

"Like with you and George," Noah said, turning his head to meet Mason's gaze.

"Like me and George," Mason agreed. "Like I said before, I really don't want you guys ending up the way we did."

"That won't happen," Noah said firmly.

"Are you sure? I mean, just the other day you were saying how concerned you were about Luke. His lack of focus and drive. His need for attention."

Reid's squint turned into a full-on frown.

"Well, he's got this new job now," Noah explained, "and despite my initial concerns, I think it might actually be good for him. And Luke, he's...he's _always_ been supportive of my directing. He knows how important it is to me. He understands that some things are worth sacrificing for. And it's not like either of us are going anywhere," he grinned. "We'll both still be there when I finish editing together the final movie, no matter how long it takes."

He kept telling himself it was none of his business. It was absolutely nothing to do with him and he shouldn't get involved.

It didn't help. Five seconds later, he was standing over both of them.

Mason still didn't move his arm away. Reid's frown turned into a scowl.

Noah blinked up at him. "Uh. Hello?"

But what the hell was he supposed to say? They didn't know who he was and even if they did, it wouldn't make any difference. They knew nothing about his conversations with Luke.

"Can we help you?" Noah tried again, lifting the hand holding the coffee.

Seeing the drink, Reid was suddenly inspired. "Where'd you get the coffee? I really need a caffeine fix."

Looking relieved, Noah's face relaxed. "Oh. Just over there," he nodded to the right. "You can't miss it."

"You really can't," Mason pointed out. "There's a large sign on the window that says 'Coffee Shop'."

"Mason," Noah rebuked.

For the obnoxiousness alone, now Reid really _had_ to make some kind of comment. Making a point of looking between them, then at Mason's arm still around Noah's shoulder, Reid nodded at them. "You two make a cute couple."

"Oh!" Noah exclaimed, jerking forward and away. Mason started pulling his arm away but it was pretty obvious to Reid that he was doing so reluctantly. "We're, um, we're just friends."

"Oh, really?" Reid asked as innocently as he could muster, making a point of meeting Mason's gaze. "Could've fooled me."

A few minutes later, Reid had just received his caramel latte, extra cream when Noah walked in. He didn't notice Reid at all, and as he unzipped his jacket, a _Java_ t-shirt was revealed beneath.

"Hey, Beth," Noah greeted, joining the barista behind the counter. "You need me to take anything out to the trash?"

Grabbing the bag containing his muffin from the side, Reid shook his head as he headed for the hospital. It was just as well he was leaving town today - he couldn't imagine being served by Noah Mayer on a regular basis and not ask him what the hell he thought he was doing.

*

Paul Ryan still hadn't woken up. This did not come as a surprise to Reid. This did, apparently, come as a surprise to his family, despite everything Reid had told them before - and after - the surgery.

"I don't understand why you can't stay longer," Meg implored somewhat hysterically and Reid hoped that everyone else in the Snyder family wasn't as irritating as she was. Luke had said his family was insane - Reid had assumed he was exaggerating, but maybe he hadn't been. "We may not being married anymore, but-"

"Woah, hold up a minute," Reid interrupted, turning from the chart he'd been pretending to read. "I thought you were the girlfriend."

"No," she huffed, "I'm the wife. His wife," she quickly corrected with a glare. "Ex-wife. At the moment."

Barbara managed to produce something vaguely like a snicker.

Emily practically snarled a response. "Stop talking like you're the loving ex. It amazes me that after everything you've done, you still haven't learnt the art of subtlety."

Meg actually tossed her hair. "And what does _that_ mean?"

"That means, sweetheart, that everyone knows that you and Damian are doing the dirty. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you were only here on his behalf. He loves to keep a finger in every-"

"How _dare_ you?"

Reid had to do something drastic before the bickering started again.

Also, Luke's Aunt was sleeping with Luke's Dad?

Eww.

"Let's make this easier: people who wish to know about Paul Ryan and apparently also have the legal right to know, otherwise Bob wouldn't have given you all clearance," he addressed, waiting as they all focused on him. Good. "I don't know when Paul will wake up. I don't know if Paul will wake up - although I suspect he will," he quickly added, "based on the lack of any other apparent brain trauma. There's nothing more I can do. His brain needs to heal, so the only thing the patient needs is time. Do you understand these words as I am saying them to you?" He looked from one to the other, to the other. "Do I need to use simpler words? With handpuppets from Sesame Street?"

"We understand you perfectly, Doctor," Barbara replied archly. "We just wish that we didn't."

"Also," Emily chimed in, actually agreeing with her, "that you were less of an ass."

"Sucks when you can't get what you want, doesn't it?" Reid asked, gesturing towards her with the chart, then making a show of looking at his watch. "I've gotta get out of here to catch my flight. So...hope he wakes up, everything works out, etc etc. Bye!" Leaving the room swiftly, Reid placed Paul's chart in the holder next to the door and went to find Bob. Somewhat disturbingly, whenever Reid did go searching for Bob, it seemed the Chief of Staff was inevitably wandering aimlessly around the hospital. He did actually seem to be in possession of all his faculties, he just liked to...wander the hospital when he wasn't stuck with paperwork or in meetings. Make himself easily available to anyone who might want him.

Reid would not be Chief of Staff for all the pies in Canada.

Although, when he thought about it, he was technically Chief of Staff of his own facility. Reassurring himself that at least it wasn't an entire hospital, Reid took approximately twenty-five seconds to locate Bob, who was wandering around near peds.

"Bob."

"Dr Oliver," he said warmly, turning towards him. "How's our patient?"

" _Your_ patient is still very much unconscious - as I predicted," Reid replied. "And there's no sign of any deterioration in his health. As I've fulfilled my professional obligation, I came to inform you that I'll be leaving."

"I appreciate the courtesy, Doctor," Bob held his hand out, "and I appreciate your assistance in this matter."

"You wanted the best," Reid pointed out, even as he shook Bob's hand, "so I came."

"So I did, Doctor, so I did," Bob answered, drawing his hand away from Reid's. "While I have you here, are you sure there's nothing we can do to convince you to stay longer?"

Reid absolutely did not think of anyone in particular after hearing that question. "Bob, you really don't want an honest answer to that question."

Chuckling quietly, Bob smiled. "I have to say, Reid, that I have admired your forthright honesty - if not always the way you express it."

That was not something Reid had been expecting to hear today - but neither was something else. "Reid? So, I finally get the use of my first name?"

"I was always taught, right from a young age," Bob informed him, with what Reid would swear was an actual twinkle in his eye, "that first names are synonymous with respect." With one last, slow, enigmatic smile, Bob wandered off somewhere new. Probably towards the janitorial closet with the leaky tap.

Feeling downright _fuzzy_ inside, Reid promptly decided the best way to rid himself of this feeling was to get back to Dallas as soon as humanly possible. The sooner he got out of Oakdale the better - for oh so many reasons. To keep himself occupied during his journey to the _Lakeview_ , Reid decided to list them all, a method he used frequently in various scenarios to be clear about a course of action.

1) Reid really did have a career to get back to, patients who'd already been kept waiting  
2) Oakdale was microscopic, almost literally, and was so old-fashioned it simply couldn't cope with Reid in all his glory  
3) One coffee shop. What the hell was that about?  
4) Most of the town were _friendly_ and _welcoming_ to disturbing levels  
5) Reid had actually begun wondering if Bob, clearly the town patriach, might actually be a) wise and b) worth listening to, an obvious indicator that Reid was already starting to go native and should get the hell out of dodge  
6) He was pretty sure Damian Grimaldi hated his guts. Of course, the feeling was mutual but, unlike Reid, he had the feeling Damian Grimaldi arranged for the people he hated to end up at the bottom of the nearest river, wearing a stylish new pair of cement shoes  
7) Worst of all, Reid had actually started investing himself in the personal life of someone who a) wasn't a patient and b) wasn't someone he was sleeping with. Luke Snyder's life literally had nothing to do with him, but instead of being completely uninvested, Reid had found himself doing ridiculous things such as listening to what Luke had to say and not telling him to shut up afterwards. Actually interfering when he saw Noah being a crappy boyfriend. _Lurking out by old-fashioned antique stores._ Reid did not lurk anywhere, let alone near cutesy, old-fashioned antique stores. This ridiculous behaviour had to stop and since - embarrassingly - he couldn't seem to stop it voluntarily, the best course of action was to simply remove himself from the area as soon as possible  
8) In relation to 7; see 6

Satisfied with this course of action and the return to a life that he knew so well, Reid was therefore greatly annoyed when he strode into the _Lakeview_ only to see the very person he'd just been thinking about. Not allowing himself to get distracted, Reid ignored how good Luke looked in the obviously expensive suit he was wearing, and simply nodded as he passed. "Mr Snyder."

"Hi!" Luke greeted, his voice going up with something like joy, and who the hell ever smiled when Reid Oliver walked into a room?

Sticking with his plan, Reid continued on until reaching the elevator and pressing the call button. Predictably, just a few seconds later, Luke was standing next to him. Smiling.

"I'm here for a business meeting," Luke informed him, as if he'd even asked. "Damian's really throwing me in at the deep end," he explained, sounding vaguely nervous, "but he's going to be doing most of the talking, so...you're staying at the _Lakeview_ , then?" he asked, suddenly changing topics.

Finally, the elevator doors pinged open. Reid barely waited for the people inside to get out before throwing himself into the confined space. "Not for much longer," he announced, pushing the button for his floor.

"What? Wait, you're leaving?" Even as he asked the question Luke was diving after Reid, just as the doors started closing.

Finger still pressing the button for his floor, Reid stared at Luke helplessly. So much for getting away from him. "So, you are actually following me now, you realise this."

"We're having a conversation," Luke argued, "and you're leaving?"

"Job's done," Reid shrugged, looking up at the display showing the rising floor numbers. _2...3..._ "Nothing else for me to do here. I have a...life to get back to in Dallas."

"Oh," Luke said slowly. "Oh, well, of course you do." There was a moment of blissful silence. _4...5..._ "Well, in that case, Dr Oliver," Luke declared, smiling and holding a hand out towards him, "I appreciate the time you spent putting up with me. I know I can be-"

"Luke," Reid sighed as he found himself interrupting even as he took Luke's hand. Deciding to roll with it - he was about to leave town anyway - he held Luke's gaze. "Don't ever apologise for who you are. Don't make excuses for who you are, and make sure that you do what _you_ want to do, even if that is taking care of someone. Stand up for yourself once in a while."

Still holding Reid's hand, Luke smiled at him gently. "You called me Luke," he teased.

Reid was so glad he was leaving this town. "Seriously? Out of everything I just said, _that's_ the part you concentrate-"

The elevator shook, suddenly, shuddering. Moving on pure instinct, Reid yanked his hand out of Luke's and flattened himself back against the nearest wall, staring up in horror as the lights flickered.

*

This was not happening. This was _seriously_ not happening.

Propelling himself forward, away from the wall, Reid started pounding on the elevator doors. "Hey!" he yelled. "Hey, there are people stuck in here!"

"Reid?"

Sweat breaking out across his body in an instant, Reid kept striking the doors. "I said get us the hell out of-"

"Reid!" Luke was yelling, right next to him, grabbing Reid by the shoulders and turning him around. "Calm down!"

Blinking, Reid shut up.

"Good," Luke continued, calming himself down, too. "I'm pretty sure that keeping your hands in good condition is kind of essential to being a neurosurgeon. Thumping the doors is not going to help you, or your career."

Lifting his hands, Reid stared down at them. They were shaking. He tried to swallow, but his throat felt like it was closing up.

"Okay, so you're obviously claustrophobic," Luke continued.

"What was your first clue, genius?" Reid snapped, pulling at the collar of his shirt. Christ, it was warm in here. There was no room, there was _never enough room_.

"Look, I'm sure they know about it," Luke tried to reassure him.

Reid almost produced a laugh. "Yeah, if we were back in Dallas, but here in Oakdale?" He pulled out of Luke's hold and started pressing on the doors. "Probably still work on a primitive pulley system with a bucket of sand on the other end." Trying the panel instead, Reid pressed the emergency button. Nothing happened. "What's the deal with this emergency button?" He tried it again, repeatedly.

"I don't know - it's landmarked," Luke offered.

Well that made no sense. "The button?"

"The building. The elevators are temperamental, but they get inspected all the time."

Trying to focus on anything other than the feeling that the walls were closing in - _Christ_ \- Reid pressed everything he could get his hands on. "How do you know all this?"

"My Mom's part-owner of the hotel."

"Of course she is," Reid snorted, glancing up at the floor display. Nothing. "Your Mom owns the _Lakeview_ , your Dad currently runs his shipping company from this backwater town from hell, your boyfriend works at the only decent - no, only! - coffee shop in town, your aunt is one of Paul Ryan's harem and it seems everywhere I turn, there you are. Is there _any_ part of this place that's free from your influence? Because if so, I'd really like to find it."

Plainly unamused, Luke folded his arms across his chest. "Seeing as you only just got through telling me not to apologise for who I am, I'm not going to apologise for the fact that I'm apparently so repellant you can't wait to get away from me. What I am going to do is tell you that you're lucky I'm cutting you some slack due to your claustrophobia, because there's no way in hell I'd normally let you speak to me that way."

"Please," he retorted, trying more buttons, "Noah treats you worse than that all the time."

Luke made a weird, unidentifiable noise, and for a moment it actually took Reid's attention away from the fact that he was currently experiencing something worse than being forced to sit through 'romantic' 'comedies'. _Crap._ It was rare, but this was one of those moments where he actually started feeling...regret...about something that he'd said.

"Look," Reid tried, speaking to Luke's back, "I'm a jerk. I told you this the first time we met, so nothing I say should come as a surprise. That said..." The muscles in Luke's back started to loosen up. "Listen up, Mr Snyder, because I don't list my faults very often."

"You mean you actually admit to having some?" Luke asked, not turning around but beginning to sound amused.

"I'm claustrophic," was what Reid responded with. "I don't know if you know what a phobia is, Mr Snyder-"

"I do read. A lot, actually."

"You can't control it, you can't reason with it. More often than not you'll even lash out at the people who are trying to..." he swallowed, managing it this time, "...help you. So," he quickly continued, "I was being even more obnoxious than usual because I'd rather do anything than focus on the fact that the doors _still won't open_ and..." Shit, he shouldn't have mentioned it. Vision starting to grey out, Reid stumbled back against the closest wall.

Luke must've realised what was going on because he was suddenly there, supporting Reid's weight. "Careful, careful," his voice said soothingly and when Reid could focus again, Luke was smiling that smile right into his face. "That was the worst apology in the entire world."

"Technically," Reid managed, "no apology crossed my lips."

"Which is why it sucked," Luke smirked. "Now, let's try and get you comfortable and I'll see about calling someone to make sure help is definitely on the way. So tell me, Dr Oliver," Luke continued, letting go when he was sure Reid could lean against the wall under his own power, "where's your happy place?"

In the process of reaching for a handkerchief from his pocket, Reid paused. "Are you seriously about to try some bogus pop-psychology on me?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "Does it matter if it works?"

Patting at his forehead a few times, Reid closed his eyes. Okay. Okay. Anything was worth a try. Happy place...his happy place...actually, that was easy. "The brain," he announced, snapping his eyes open.

"Figures," Luke smiled.

"Well, if I told you it was some field with tadpoles and dancing cows you'd know I was lying, so..."

Nodding his agreement, Luke spoke again. "Okay, so is it any brain in particular?"

"Each one's different," Reid shrugged, scratching at his head. "They're all amazing, though. This...tangled mess of grey spaghetti - it's totally alien." He thought back to the first time he'd observed a procedure, his first time seeing a living, still-functioning brain, and his realisation that his strange, ugly-looking thing was responsible for so much. "It's not much to look at to the naked eye but it makes us...walk and talk...think..." he thought of his previous memory, "...remember...smell...love." Reid considered some of the things he admired most. "It produced the Sistine Chapel. Chocolate. Theory of Relativity. Godfather, Parts 1 and 2." Frowning, he contemplated the next movie...hmm. Nah. "Not so sure about 3." Realising that Luke was staring at him and smiling, Reid shifted. "What?"

"It's working," Luke pointed out, obviously pleased.

Considering, Reid realised that - annoyingly - he was right. "Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I feel better." He actually did, as long as he didn't think about...he closed his eyes as the panic flared.

"Right," Luke said decisively, "okay, you keep thinking of the brain and I'll see if I can contact the outside world. How about mentally reciting parts of the brain or something?"

That actually wasn't a completely terrible idea. Closing his eyes, Reid tried to regulate his breathing, keeping it calm and measured as Luke started talking to someone on his phone. Reid didn't pay attention to who it was, concentrating more on what might actually keep him calm. _On the lateral surface of the human brain, the central sulcus separates the frontal lobe from the parietal lobe. The lateral sulcus separates the frontal lobe from the temporal lobe. The frontal lobe can be divided into lateral, polar, orbital and medial parts. Each of these parts consists of particular gyri-_

"So," Luke announced, not sounding pleased.

Reid's eyes immediately snapped open. "What's wrong?"

"Talked to Damian," Luke gestured with the phone he was still holding in his right hand, "he was about to call me to find out where I was, actually."

"You're stalling," Reid determined. "Tell me."

Sighing, Luke told him. "The good news is - they know we're in here, and we're in no danger of the cable snapping or anythi-"

His stomach lurched. " _Thank you_ for that image. You really suck at taking care of someone with a phobia, you know that?"

This time, Luke just let it wash over him. "The bad news is, apparently, there's really only two employees who know how to get this thing going again - something to do with the 'original design' of the building. One of them's out sick."

Reid really didn't want to ask. "And the other one?"

Luke cleared his throat. "His wife went into labour this morning."

Reid just stared at him. "That is the _worst planning_ I have ever heard of _in my entire life._ " He couldn't stay here, trapped in here, for God knew how long. He'd suffocate first. Reid started breathing faster than normal, yanking at his collar some more. He had things to _do_ , places he needed to _go_. He was going to miss his flight because he was trapped inside an elevator with Luke Snyder and life just liked to screw with him that much.

"I don't really think you can plan exactly when you give birth, Reid."

He swept his gaze around the interior of the elevator, mostly eyeing the hatch on the roof. "Come back to me when you get a medical degree. Or a uterus." He should be slim enough...

"Right, I'll get right on that," Luke said blandly, but dropped the apparent lack of interest when Reid started reaching up, trying to grab the underside of the hatch. "What are you doing?"

"Getting out of here, as if it isn't obvious," Reid gasped, making a leap for it, missing, and swaying on his feet.

"Okay, big guy, that's enough," Luke declared and the next time Reid tried to get the hatch open, Luke intervened, shoving Reid back up against the wall.

Pinned in, frustrated, Reid tried to shove him off. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Mr Snyder?"

"Saving you from yourself," he replied heatedly, pushing back, holding Reid in place. He was surprisingly strong. "You're not thinking straight right now. It's safer in here than it is clambering around up there," he nodded towards the ceiling.

"That's what you think," Reid spat. "I'll miss my flight." Trapped in Oakdale for another day...that was almost worse than being trapped in this elevator.

"So you'll get another one," Luke answered. "And you can't handle elevators, but you can handle planes?"

Reid stared at him, becoming more aware with every second of Luke's body still pressed up against his. "Planes move."

"So do elevators. Most of the time," Luke admitted, producing a small smile. "Look," he tried again, pulling his body away from Reid's, "if you go up there, you'll probably end up hurting your hands somehow." Reid seriously disliked how many valid points Luke seemed to make. "So, let's try this again," Luke said in the same kind of voice he'd probably approach a spooked animal with. It should've been irritating. "Now, I only have a basic knowledge of the brain-"

"Most people only have a basic knowledge of most things," Reid found himself saying.

"Well, not all of us can aspire to your level of genius," Luke smirked, "but if you want to talk to me about it or something, I'm a good listener. Or...maybe we can find something we're both interested in, so we can have an actual conversation. What else are you interested in?"

Wiping the back of a shaky hand across his forehead, Reid shrugged. He couldn't fight this anymore. If it got his mind off what he was currently going through... "Food."

"I eat food, too," Luke grinned, "we're already off to a great start. Anything else?"

Reid thought about it. Came up empty. "Nothing."

Stepping back, Luke studied him. "Do you read?"

"Medical journals, mostly." Nothing Luke would've read.

"Watch TV?"

"Only as background noise." When he didn't like the silence.

"You are a difficult one," Luke admitted. "Okay, what about hobbies?" Hobbies? "You've made it clear how important your work is to you, but there must be something else you do. Even if only sometimes."

Hobbies? Reid was a busy man, he didn't have time to waste on-

"Chess," he said suddenly, lifting his head.

"I love chess," Luke told him, surprised but clearly pleased. "I have my own board at the apartment, but never have anyone to-" Stopping, obviously not wanting to get into his own issues just then, he nodded at Reid. "Something tells me you're good at chess."

"I'm brilliant at chess," Reid corrected, simply because it was the truth. "Used to play professionally."

"No way," Luke replied, reminding Reid of his youth. "Is there anything you can't do?"

"Handle tight spaces?" he offered, immediately wishing he hadn't; vision swimming alarmingly.

"So, chess!" Luke announced, clapping his hands together, picking up on Reid's discomfort. "Played since you were a kid?"

"As far back as I can remember," Reid agreed, eager for the conversation now. "I used to hang out at Harvard Square with these 70-year-old Ukrainian guys. When my parents realised how good I was, they started entering me in competitions. I never lost."

"Must've been exciting," Luke reasoned, looking impressed.

Initially, but then...really not. "It was what it was. It was always more exciting for my parents. I was just their...trained seal; I wasn't a kid. Then one day I just upped and refused to do it anymore. When I play now...it's because I want to," Reid finished, and it was only when he looked up that he realised he'd been so lost in the memory that he'd failed to notice how easily he was spilling his guts and how absolutely fascinated Luke looked.

Luke didn't offer sympathy or pity - he offered a challenge, instead. "So if we played chess right now, you'd probably kick my ass."

Ha. "There's no 'probably' about it, Mr Snyder, but unless you've been hiding a chess board upon your person that I somehow failed to notice..." It wasn't the smirk that stopped him. It was Luke, pulling his phone out again, tapping on the touchscreen. Seconds later, he turned the phone towards Reid, who watched a digital chess board appear on the small screen.

And that was how he found himself sitting on the floor of a broken-down elevator, hunched over a cell phone, playing chess with Luke Snyder.

Luke's phone came with a stylus that they shared between them, which meant it was easier to sit side-by-side, shoulders brushing together, leaning against the same wall. Luke had long since removed his suit jacket and rolled up his shirt sleeves. Reid kept finding the hair on his forearms distracting. Actually, there were many things Reid found distracting - Luke's general proximity, the hair on his forearms, the expression on his face when he was concentrating - but even distracted as he was, Reid was still a far superior chess player than just about anyone else in Illinois. Or Dallas. Or Boston.

And as Luke rightly predicted, Reid was kicking his ass.

He sighed, peering at the next move Luke was in the process of making. "That's a stupid idea."

Luke didn't look up, although the stylus stopped moving. "I thought we agreed you weren't going to comment and let me make my own mistakes."

"I am aware that I agreed to those terms," Reid conceded, because unfortunately that was the truth, "however, allowing you to make your own mistakes is a futile exercise when you never learn anything from them."

Shrugging, Luke continued with his stupid move. "I can show you how I've learnt to poke this stylus in your eye."

"Then again," Reid told him, "far be it from me not to provide myself with the opportunity to win yet another game." After Luke passed him the stylus - surprisingly pleasantly - Reid barely looked at the phone Luke was still holding, quickly tapping the screen in two places. "Checkmate."

This had to be the tenth game Luke had lost in a row, but he took the stylus out of Reid's hand - their fingers brushing together - and gamely started another one. "So, really," Luke asked casually, forehead creased in concentration, "you think Noah treats me badly?"

Ah.

It was pretty obvious Luke's apparent ease was all an act. Reid found himself staring at the side of Luke's face. Luke stubbornly kept his face turned away.

Reid didn't say anything because he actually didn't know what to say - something that didn't happen very often in the life of Reid Oliver. He was actually...worried about hurting Luke's feelings.

Setting his shoulders stiffly, Luke lifted his head and looked at Reid. Their faces were so close together that Reid had to focus on something absurd, like being able to see the pores on Luke's face. "You've always told me the truth," Luke said, like they'd known each other years instead of days, "even when I didn't like it. Don't chicken out now just because you think I'm not a complete imbecile."

Reid twisted his lips. "I said no such thing."

"It's implied from all available evidence," Luke joked, though he was still wary around the eyes.

Fair enough. "Yes," Reid said bluntly. "From what I've observed and what you've told me, Noah takes you for granted while at the same time diminishing your accomplishments and the positive aspects of your nature. Not that I'd ever claim to be an expert on relationships," he continued honestly, "but it's my understanding that those of you interested in romantic relationships are actually supposed to support each other; take care of each other and let yourselves be taken care of. Not share a bed and nothing else. Unless it's just about the sex, in which case - he's doing everything right."

Swallowing heavily, Luke nodded slowly. "Wow," he croaked, "well, I did ask for honesty."

Shit. "Luke-"

"No, really," Luke cut him off, "it was exactly what I asked for. Just because-"

A loud clunk interrupted him and the elevator started moving. "Oh, thank God." Scurrying to his feet, Reid stared up at the display. _6...5..._ "It's about time," he muttered, glaring at his watch. There was absolutely no way he was getting his flight. Stupid goddamn elevators. Turning, he was surprised to see Luke still sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. Forgetting all about his flight, Reid bent down at the knees, forcing Luke to meet his gaze. "You know why I told you all that?" For getting him through two hours of hell, Reid owed him this much.

"Because I'm a masochist, apparently?" Luke chuckled mirthlessly.

"Because God only knows why I give a crap," Reid told him, just as the elevator came to a stop and the doors pinged open, "but something tells me you deserve better."

*

As he'd anticipated, Reid did miss his flight - but only just. They'd closed the gate barely ten minutes before he arrived and nothing he offered - money, food, free neurosurgery in the event of a cerebral event (possibly necessitated from the metal pole he was about to clobber them around the head with) - would get them to open it again. Walking briskly away from check-in with a reservation for the same flight the next day, Reid grumpily considered his options.

Chicago wasn't a million miles away. It might be worth his time finding transport into Chicago and trying to get a flight to Dallas from there - being an actual city and actually part of civilisation, there had to be more flights to Texas coming out of Chicago than there were coming out of Oakdale. But...his day had already been hellish enough. The thought of arranging transport to Chicago, then actually travelling there, then trying to bargain himself onto the next available flight - which was bound to be more difficult than it was here due to the much larger population - Reid really didn't want to put himself though the stress. As bizarre as Oakdale was turning out to be, the idea of spending another night relaxing and leaving for the airport in plenty of time the next day seemed infinitely more appealling.

He only hoped he wouldn't regret it.

Decision made, Reid returned to the _Lakeview_ and checked in for another night. The check-in clerk didn't appear particularly thrilled to see him, so Reid made a point of being particularly obnoxious and difficult. Amused with himself and - after dumping his laptop and his travel bag in his room - Reid decided that after a day like today, he really should have that chilli and cornbread he'd been craving. Getting directions from the concierge, it didn't take long for him to locate _Al's_ which, much as he loathed to admit it, looked like the kind of place where he'd really enjoy the food. Reid wasn't one for fancy food, much preferring basic, hearty meals. The food in the _Lakeview_ had been technically excellent, but Reid was much more an _Al's_ kind of person.

Pleased at this development, Reid contemplated his seating choices. It was mostly free-standing tables with a few booths by the window, but Reid ultimately decided on sitting at the counter - he had no table, so no one could end up inviting themselves to sit at his table. A harried looking man wearing an frankly alarmingly-coloured shirt appeared at the other side of the counter, placing a cup by Reid's hand and splashing some coffee into it.

"I'll be right with you," the man said, rushing off into the kitchen. "Sweetie," he called out loudly, "how are your balls doing?"

"Oakdale really is more progressive than I thought," Reid muttered to himself, adding sugar to his coffee as he began eyeing the menu on the counter. He was still pretty set on the chilli and cornbread, but he checked over the options just in case there was something more appealling. Seeing nothing that leapt out at him, he placed the menu to one side. Not long after, Alarming Shirt returned and whipped out a pad of paper and a pencil.

"So, do you know what you'd like to drink?"

"Chilli and cornbread," Reid retorted. Then, off Alarming Shirt's surprised look that he already knew what he wanted to eat, "Through a straw, if you want."

"A man who knows what he likes," Alarming Shirt conceded, scribbling down the order, obviously wanting to please his customer. "A man after my own heart."

Okay, that level of sucking up really wasn't necessary. Reid was already going to buy the food, Alarming Shirt didn't need to go _that_ far. "It came recommended," he offered, which was almost the truth.

"Well," Alarming Shirt enthused, obviously happy at that piece of news, "here at _Al's_ , we're always pleased to-"

"Look," Reid interrupted, sighing, "I've had a really bad day and yet somehow - ridiculously - I'm staying in this godforsaken town for another night _voluntarily_. Now, could you just pass the order on to the kitchen so I might get my food - which I've been informed is very, very good - sometime this century? I'm already going to pay. I'm a sure thing. I understand that it's part of your," he gestured towards him, "customer service routine, but the flirting is completely unnecessary."

Eyes bulging, Alarming Shirt straightened his back, standing tall. "I was most certainly not flirting with one of my customers," he insisted dramatically, "I would never be that unprofessional. Also, I'm not in the least bit offended that you thought I was gay, because there's nothing wrong with being gay. That said...I'm not," he said. "Gay. That is."

Reid stared at him, entirely unconvinced.

"I'll...go put your order in," Alarming Shirt suddenly declared, quickly walking away.

Shaking his head, Reid pulled his phone out. If he was staying another night, he really needed to let Susie know what was going on. He unlocked the screen and when his background blinked into existence, he was suddenly back in the elevator, playing chess with Luke.

He'd been purposefully avoiding thoughts of Luke Snyder as much as possible since their goodbye outside the elevator.

_If Reid had any choice in the matter, Damian Grimaldi's face would not have been the first one he would've chosen to see after finally escaping._

_Unfortunately, Reid obviously had no choice in the matter whatsoever._

_"Luciano," Damian rushed to his son, almost shoving Reid aside. "Are you okay?"_

_"I'm fine, Damian," Luke assured him, although his expression looked anything but. Reid felt a distinct twinge of guilt. "It's not like I've been held hostage - and it was only a couple of hours. I'm just sorry I missed the meeting."_

_"Forget about the meeting," Damian told him, "I'm just glad you're okay." Pausing, he finally turned towards Reid. "You didn't tell me you were trapped with Dr Oliver."_

_Reid stared back at Damian, crossing his arms._

_"I said I wasn't alone," Luke pointed out. "Why does it matter who it was?"_

_"It doesn't," Damian quickly faced back towards him, smiling magnanimously. "I was simply curious."_

_Like Reid bought that for a single second. "Touching though his family reunion obviously is," he began, "I have to get out of here." Good luck didn't seem to travel much in this town, but maybe by some miracle he could still get his flight. He doubted it, but it was worth a shot. "Mr Snyder, thanks for..." he looked at Luke, holding his gaze. Reid nodded towards the elevator. "The chess."_

_Smiling vaguely, Luke nodded back. "You too. I hope you make your flight."_

_A woman appeared next to them suddenly, lunging at Luke. "Sweetheart, are you okay? I'm so sorry! I've spoken to Frank again and again about those-"_

_"It's fine, Mom," Luke told her, accepting her hug with ridiculously good grace, staring at Reid over her shoulder._

_After one last look Reid was turning away, trying to find the stairs that'd take him back up to get his belongings, but all he could see was the ridiculously sad expression on Luke's face._

Groaning at himself quietly - he was so screwed - Reid tried to distract himself by scrolling through the menus on his phone. When he found himself at the _Applications_ menu, he wondered why he'd never thought to download an electronic version of chess. Given his brain capacity and his general brilliance, the idea should have occurred to him before.

But when he took the time to scroll through the list of applications he'd downloaded...

_Aldiko Book Reader_  
Anatomy of the Brain  
Dallas Weather Report  
Dictionary.com  
Documents To Go  
Google Maps  
Gray's Anatomy 2009  
Nervous System Anatomy  
Pocket Atlas of Anatomy  
Skyscape Medical Resources  
Yellow Pages 

Maybe it wasn't such a surprise after all.

Alarming Shirt suddenly yelled so loudly, Reid almost dropped his phone.

"Bubbles!"

Recovering from the shock, Reid pocketed his phone and levelled a glare at him. "Are we randomly shouting words, now? Because I have a few I could-"

"It's so good to see you," Alarming Shirt spoke over him - probably on purpose - greeting a woman who'd just sat a few stools down from Reid.

"Hey, Henry," she acknowledged with a smile, placing her handbag on the counter, "you too."

"So, how are you feeling?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm pregnant, Henry, not dying of consumption."

Reid had opinions to voice about that, about how a foetus basically acted as a parasite, using your body for its own purposes and draining it of resources - but decided not to say anything. He'd already become too involved in the lives of the people of Oakdale. There was no reason to compound earlier mistakes.

"Besides," she continued, "I'm past my first trimester now, so everything should be..." Stopping suddenly, looking unsure, she glanced awkwardly at Henry. "Never mind."

Henry looked suspiciously teary-eyed. "Katie, I can't expect you not to talk about your pregnancy, just because..." He took a breath, obviously steeling himself. "I mean, it makes you so happy."

"It's just so unfair," Katie said emotionally.

"Well, that's the way life is sometimes," Henry said quickly, suddenly looking down. Finding a cloth, he started rubbing at the counter space in front of her, focusing intently on the task at hand.

Katie studied him quietly. "How's Vienna today?"

Pausing his work, Henry sighed and looked back at Katie. "Cooking. Constantly," he gestured towards the kitchen. "Fortunately for my bank balance, the people of Oakdale can't get enough of Swedish Meatballs." He ended his sentence by producing a little flourish with his cloth. "So," he continued, in an obvious attempt to move on, "what would you like today? Your usual or something a little different? We currently have a special on Swedish Meatballs."

"Mostly because you're trying to get rid of them," she concluded.

"Mostly," he agreed happily.

"I think," she began, then paused. "Woah," she continued groggily, bracing a hand against the edge of the counter. "This is a doozy."

Reid found himself inching towards her. Henry began reaching over the counter anxiously. "Katie?"

She didn't reply. Instead, her eyes rolled back in her head and she started slipping off her stool.

"Katie!"

Even as Henry ran around the counter, Reid was already moving to catch her. She wasn't a big woman, but her limp body still brought them down harder than he would have liked. Grateful that he'd at least been able to get a hand under her head before it hit the floor, Reid carefully lowered her the rest of the way and started checking her vitals.

"Katie, oh my God! Vienna! Call an ambulance!"

Pleased with her pulse and pupil response, Reid stood up. "Stand down, Hank," he ordered, as a striking woman with long hair tied back neatly came dashing out of the kitchen.

" _Katie?_ " She gasped, panicked. "Oh my goodness!"

"Stand down?" Henry asked. "She just...how do you know my name?"

Reid ignored the question. "Do you have a car?"

"Of course," he replied quickly.

Bending down again, Reid started to lift her up. "Help me get her to it and it'll be faster than waiting for an ambulance." When Henry still dithered, Reid glared at him. "Or we could just leave the pregnant lady _lying on the floor._ "

"Yes, yes, you're right," Henry finally agreed and after asking Vienna to watch _Al's_ , the two of them - with the help of the crowd who had gathered in the diner - got Katie to the car. Fortunately for everyone involved it was four-door, so after carefully depositing Katie in the back, the two of them took the front seats and Henry started the engine.

"So you know what you're doing, right?" Henry asked, pulling out, constantly checking the rearview mirror. "What are you - a doctor?"

"Yes," Reid snapped. "Medical history?"

"Oh, Katie's?"

"Well I wouldn't want yours, Brainiac."

"I was just checking," Henry huffed. "Well, Katie's 32 years old, she was pregnant once before but it was an ectopic pregnan...oh God," he realised, "you don't think it's happened again, do you? They had such a hard time getting pregnant, she and Brad'll be devastated."

"Don't jump to any conclusions," Reid warned, although it was a valid concern. "She probably just hasn't been getting enough rest."

A sound came from the back seat of the car.

"Bubbles!" Henry said. Well, yelled, gaze glued to the rearview mirror again. "Everything'll be okay, we'll be at the hospital in a flash, you'll see!"

The car started to veer dangerously to the right. Reid actually found himself raising an arm, as if that would protect him in any way, shape or form. "Truck, truck!"

"Sorry!" Henry yelled back, veering the car back the other way. The sound of blaring horns echoed after them.

Bracing a hand on the dashboard, Reid found himself regretting every decision he'd ever made in life that had brought him to this moment. "I should've gone to Chicago."

"What?"

Shaking his head, Reid made a point of keeping his eyes on the road, since it was clear Hank wasn't. "Okay, you in the back."

"Me?" Katie's voice asked.

"Unless you've got someone hiding back there with you," Reid growled. "Are you feeling any pain? In your abdomen? Head? Anywhere in your body?"

The car swerved dramatically as Henry barely avoided a cyclist.

"No," she answered. "Well, there's a slight throbbing because my head keeps hitting the window due to Henry's _insane driving_ , but other than that..."

Good, that was good. "Have you been feeling ill lately? Any strange pains or cramps before you passed out?"

"I've had a few dizzy spells, but that's it. Do you think-"

"We're here!" Henry announced, the car barrelling into a left turn. Seconds later they screeched to a stop outside the ER. Flying out of the car, Henry yanked open the back door. "Come on, Bubbles."

"This is ridiculous," she told them, but let them both help her out of the car. "I feel fine now."

"Well, better safe than sorry," Henry argued as a nurse wheeled a chair towards them. "Ah, good."

When she was settled, Reid quickly pushed Katie into the arrival area. Another nurse rushed up to them. "32-year-old female," Reid began, letting the nurse take control of the chair, "just passed her first trimester. Lost consciousness and was out for approximately three minutes. Pulse was good and pupils remained reactive."

"I was just dizzy," Katie insisted, although she sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as anything else.

"Why don't you let us be the judge of that, Katie?" the nurse asked, and of _course_ everyone knew everyone else in this town. "Thank you, Doctor," the nurse nodded, clearly recognising Reid when he didn't have a clue who she was.

"I better call Brad," Henry announced as Katie was wheeled away, digging in a pocket for his cellphone. "I doubt-"

A tall, dark-haired man burst into the room, running straight for the desk. "My wife," he gasped, "she was just-"

"Brad!" Henry called, shoving his phone back in his pocket. The two men rushed towards each other.

"Vienna called me," Brad explained, "is she-?"

"She seems fine," Henry assured Brad, "the baby, too. They've just taken her to get checked out. Uh," he threw an uncertain glance Reid's way. "He helped."

Reid looked at him. "Could you have understated that any further?"

"Thank you, man," Brad said genuinely, ignoring the comment to Henry and slapping Reid heavily on the shoulder. Reid looked at the hand. It didn't move. "If there's ever anything I can do for you..."

"You could start by removing your hand from my shoulder."

After a few moments Brad laughed, obviously thinking Reid was joking. "No, really. Thanks." Giving Reid's shoulder one last squeeze, Brad finally let go and started stepping away. "I better see what's going on."

Watching him walk away, Reid frowned as his stomach began to rumble. Looking down at it morosely, Reid considered the unfortunate fact that he still hadn't been able to try the chilli with cornbread.

"Hey, Hank."

"Don't call me Hank," Henry instructed. "My name is Henry. And why am I still talking to you, anyway?"

Like that mattered. "Does _Al's_ deliver?"

*

Susie laughed like a hyena by the time Reid finished telling her everything that'd happened - at which point he promptly forgot why he ever bothered to tell her anything. They'd already talked business, but afterward she asked for a more general update - and he'd made the mistake of giving her one.

"Reid, please," she laughed down the phone line, "tell me the part again when you're trapped in an elevator. For two hours! Or, or," she continued, "your mad race to the hospital with a pregnant woman in the back and a maniac at the wheel. Or the janitor who keeps tripping you over every time you see him!"

"Goodbye," Reid said calmly, ending the call and walking back into the hospital. So much for that raise she thought she was getting next year.

It'd been about an hour since they'd brought Katie to the hospital and, despite their mutual dislike, he and Henry were still waiting for news - together. Reid concluded that the only reason he gave a crap was the fact that he'd dealt with the patient initially, and he'd be failing in his duty as a medical professional if he didn't make sure that she was receiving all the support that she needed.

Even Reid could tell that now he sounded like the one trying to convince themselves of something.

Stupid, annoying Oakdale with it's moronic, unevolved population.

Finally, Brad came back into view, looking relaxed. "Hey, you guys can come and see her now if you want."

"How is she?" Henry asked quickly.

"She's fine," Brad grinned. "Scaring the crap out of me, as always. I swear, that woman." Reid considered leaving, now that he knew for sure. "Oh," Brad continued, smiling at Reid, "and she totally wants to see you."

Perfect. Reid didn't have many manners, but one thing had been instilled in him from a very, very young age:

You never said no to a pregnant woman.

It may have been sexist. It may even have been demeaning. Reid just knew it was a fact of life.

With a nod and a shrug, Reid found himself walking with Henry, following Brad to Katie's room. This entailed an elevator ride which Reid had to physically force himself to participate in, and for which he spent the entire time staring at the digital floor display.

Sweating more than usual when he disembarked, Reid leant against the wall for a moment, finding his legs.

"Are you sick?" Henry asked suspiciously.

Clearing his throat and tugging at his jacket, Reid straightened his back. "Where is she?"

Thirty seconds later, Brad was pushing open the door to Katie's room. Wearing a hospital gown and sitting comfortably in the bed, she smiled at all three of them. "Hi, guys."

"Hey," they replied in unison.

The nurse in the room, who'd been checking Katie's pulse, dropped Katie's arm like a hot potato when she realised Reid was in the room. Quietly leaving, she placed Katie's chart at the foot of the bed with a, "There you go, Doctor," before scurrying out of the room. Watching her go, amused, Reid turned back to see the others staring at him.

"I have fans," he shrugged.

The moment gone, Henry hurried to Katie's right side. Brad had automatically stationed himself at her left. "So, Bubbles, how are you? Really?"

"I'm fine," she insisted, "and I really mean that this time. But you guys were right," Katie said, smiling up at Brad, who placed a hand over her stomach. "Better safe than sorry."

"You got that right," Brad said softly.

Finally pulling her gaze away from Brad, as if only just remembering there was someone else in the room, she faced the others and continued talking. "I just have to make sure I'm getting enough rest. No more all-night Star Trek marathons," she joked.

Reid nodded. "From articles I've read, it seems many people find it difficult to...strike a balance. They don't realise just how much energy pregnancy takes."

"I know I sure as hell didn't," Katie agreed. "Doctor..?"

"Oliver," Reid told her, "Reid Oliver."

"Well, Dr Reid Oliver," she greeted formally, "I asked Brad to bring you here because I wanted to thank you properly for helping me today. I mean, you don't know me at all - just calling an ambulance would've been enough for most people. But you really went out of your way to help. I can't tell you how much I - we - appreciate that. And if there's anything we can do..."

Now he'd had that offer from both halves of the couple. He was beginning to think he should take them up on it.

"I was there, too," Henry complained.

"I know you were, Henry," Katie reassurred him, "and you know how much I love you. But you're my best friend. We're _supposed_ to risk life and limb for each other. Dr Oliver doesn't have any personal investment but still stuck around to help. That's the kind of thing that impresses a girl," she teased. "So that offer really does stand," Katie told Reid. "If there's ever anything Brad or I can do for you, just name it."

"Well," Brad coughed, giving Reid, then Katie, a significant look. "Within reason. You know how it is..."

Reid knew perfectly well what Brad was insinuating. He'd experienced the phenomenon a few times in his life - The Straight Guy Warning. _Me Tarzan. She Katie. She mine. Hands off._ Luckily for Reid, he had the perfect comeback.

"Brad," Katie warned, obviously not thrilled at the show of machoism.

"No, it's fine," Reid told her. "Reassuring as it must be of his faith in your relationship," he continued, "unless you've got a surprise under that medical gown, you're really not my type."

Katie's eyes widened, before she gave a nod of comprehension.

"You're gay?" Henry asked. "Really?"

Reid frowned at him. "Why on Earth would I lie?"

"To lure unsuspecting women into your web of deceit?"

Henry really needed to lay off the caffeine. "We've known each other for an _hour_."

"Ohhhhh," Brad finally said in understanding. "You're light in the loafers."

Henry all but forgotten, Reid just stared at Brad. Truthfully, he almost gaped. "Do people in this town still actually use that phrase?"

"That's cool, that's cool," Brad continued, before anyone else could. "There's nothing wrong with being gay," he announced, like he'd heard it once on an After School Special.

Reid's eye twitched. "I know."

"You know, I have a first cousin who's-"

"That's fascinating," Reid cut him off, picking up the chart that'd been left on the foot of the bed and scanning through the details. "Let's get the official word on how the patient is..." His words trailed off as he took in the patient's name. _Katie Peretti Snyder._ "You're a Snyder?" Of course she was a Snyder.

"Through marriage," Katie nodded towards Brad, who grinned at him charmingly.

Unbelievable. "How many Snyders are there, exactly?" Between the Snyders and the Hughes', the entire town could be in-bred. It seemed a distinct possibility. There was no way Henry was the result of normal gene pool.

Or Brad, for that matter.

"I don't actually know the answer to that question," Henry admitted apologetically. "You'd think I would."

"A lot," was all Brad could come up with, "although they don't all live in Oakdale anymore. Hey, you should come to the next reunion," he suggested. "My cousin would definitely be-"

"I'll pencil it into my schedule," Reid lied, although he was less offended at Brad's awkward attempts to be accepting now that he knew that the cousin Brad kept trying to set him up with was probably Luke.

The sound of the door opening made them all face the door in question to see Bob walking in with a woman Reid didn't recognise. She was well-dressed and looked to be about Bob's age, so Reid wouldn't have been surprised if she turned out to be his wife.

"Katie, sweetheart," she greeted, "are you still feeling all right?"

"Nothing's changed in the last five minutes, Kim," Katie spoke with the voice of someone who was getting sick and tired of reassuring everyone that they were okay. Reid heard it a lot in hospitals. "I'll still be fine to come to work tomorrow."

"Well," Kim frowned, "if you absolutely insist."

"Dr Oliver," Bob quickly introduced, "my wife, Kim."

Kim smiled kindly, reaching out a hand. "A pleasure to meet you, Doctor."

"Yeah, look," Reid said brusquely, not shaking her hand. There were getting to be a few too many people in this relatively cramped space. "Are we done now? Because I really need to get out of here."

"You can leave if you wish," Bob said congenially, "but I've been looking for you to personally give you my thanks for helping Katie."

Reid almost took Bob up on his offer to leave, but his curiousity got the better of him as he tried to fathom what Bob's relationship with Katie could possibly be. This town was definitely getting to him. "Let me guess - daughter?"

Smiling, Bob shook his head. "No."

"Granddaughter?"

"No."

"Fifth cousin, twice removed?"

"This could go on forever," Kim commented.

"Katie is Margo's sister," Bob finally explained.

Margo...that was the daughter-in-law. "Ah, I see. So she's not technically related to you."

"Not by blood, no," Bob confirmed, "but she's still family. Anyway," he continued, "I was quite surprised to hear that you were still in town-"

"You and me both."

"-but when I heard all about your heroics from Henry, I had to-"

"When?" Reid interrupted. Then... "You did?" From Henry?

With a weird, constipated look on his face about being caught paying Reid any kind of compliment, Henry laughed once. Abruptly. "You were on the phone."

Utterly amused, Reid smirked. "Gee, Hank, I didn't know you cared."

"Hey, he asked what happened!" Henry defended himself. "It's not like I volunteered the information or anything."

"What I keep _trying_ to say," Bob pressed on, actually beginning to sound annoyed, which Reid had doubted was even possible, "is thank you, Dr Oliver. You didn't have to help as much as you did, and we appreciate it."

"It was truly a wonderful thing to do," Kim agreed.

"We should totally interview you for _Oakdale Now_ \- our viewers love that stuff. You know, getting personally involved in the lives of the hosts. And anytime you want me to set you up with-"

"Brad!" Katie hissed. "Luke already has a boyfriend!"

"What's your point?"

Reid looked around the sea of happy faces - well, bar Henry. Every single one of them looked happy and thankful towards _him_ just for doing the thing he was paid to do. "Do you people regularly thank others just for doing their jobs? Even though you're fully aware that, most of time, they're doing what they're doing simply because they're being paid a wage?"

"Oh, yes, Dr Oliver," Kim smiled. "It's called being grateful."

Reid really had to get the hell out of there - but even he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. "If you guys really meant it, about offering to do something for me..."

"Definitely," Katie nodded.

"Oh, yeah," Brad agreed.

"What is it?" Henry questioned with a scowl.

That night, Reid feasted on all the chilli with cornbread that he could eat.

It meant spending more time in Henry's presence, but as it seemed to bug the hell out of Henry, that just added to his joy.

*

The following morning, Reid woke when the phone in his hotel room started ringing. Used to forcing himself alert in an instant, Reid was immediately moving, opening his eyes and reaching for the phone.

Yawning, he brought the phone up to his face. "Yeah?"

"Dr Oliver?"

"Yeah?" Reid said again, even as he began to recognise the voice.

"It's Bob Hughes. I'm glad I caught you! I was hoping you'd be able to stop by Memorial before you leave for the airport."

Rubbing at his face with his free hand, Reid sat up. He certainly had no plans to go anywhere other than straight to the airport and couldn't see any reason to change them. "And why would I do something like that?"

"Paul Ryan woke up this morning."

Huh. That was earlier than he'd expected. Good, but earlier. "That's good news. Why do you need me?"

"Well," Bob replied, "it appears he's suffering from amnesia."

*

If Reid hadn't already known, it would've been plainly obvious which room was Paul Ryan's due to the huge number of people who had gathered outside. Fortunately for him, Bob was just on the outside of the crowd, standing next to his wife.

"Bob," he said quickly.

"Reid," Bob's face lit up in recognition. "Good, good, thank you so much-"

"Yeah, yeah, give me your lab coat."

Bob's face quickly changed into a frown. "What for?"

"Look," Reid sighed. Did he really have to explain everything, all the time? Why couldn't people just do what he asked without question? He'd spent much of his life calculating just how much more efficiently things would get done if people would just listen to him. "Do you want my help or not?"

After a moment or two of consideration, Bob apparently decided that he did want Reid's help - and started taking off his jacket.

"Bob," Kim said with something akin to horror in her voice, as if she couldn't believe that anyone would've dared to ask that of Dr Bob Hughes in the first place, "you're not actually-"

"I'm giving Dr Oliver the benefit of the doubt," he argued, holding Reid's gaze as he passed over the lab coat.

Immediately putting the jacket on, Reid looked down at himself as he tugged it into place. It was big on him, but not so much that he looked like a kid playing dress-up. It'd do - he wasn't about to waste any time. Tugging Bob's stethoscope from the chest pocket, he hung it around his neck then surveyed the idiots between him and the door. "Whatever you do," he told Bob, "keep them out of that room." Raising his voice, he addressed the crowd at large. "Clear a hole," he ordered, beating a path through the hastily-clearing crowd, pulling Paul Ryan's chart out of the slot on the wall even as he pushed the door open with the weight of his body.

Paul looked startled to see him, but otherwise seemed coherent. "Uh, hi."

"Reid Oliver," he introduced, coming to a stop next to the bed, tugging a pen out of Bob's chest pocket.

Paul studied him for a few moments. "Nice to meet you, doc," he greeted calmly.

Good. "Must be pretty disconcerting not knowing who anyone is."

"It's not the greatest feeling in the world," he admitted.

Still good. "What's your name?"

"Paul Ryan. Apparently," he chuckled, shaking his head. "Amnesia, right? Sounds crazy."

Wonderful. "Let me guess - someone's been in here already, telling you who you are and what's happened to you?"

"Sure," he nodded. "Some other doctor. An old guy."

That was...frustrating, but expected. "Okay, Mr Ryan, what day is it?" Hooking the pen onto the edge of the clipboard, Reid placed it on the bed and pulled out a pen light.

"I have no idea whatsoever," Paul admitted. "But, I have amnesia, so - probably Monday. That's the kind of stuff that's meant to happen on Mondays."

Reid smiled faintly, amused that the most entertaining person in Oakdale so far was the amnesiac. "What if it's not?" he asked casually, holding Paul's chin in his hand while the other flicked on the pen light. Paul remained calm, letting Reid shine the light in his eyes. Pupil response was normal; reactive. Good. "What's the day after Monday?" Reid continued, flicking the light off and putting it away.

"Tuesday, obviously."

Nodding, Reid reached for Paul's wrist, mentally counting the beats as he checked the passing seconds on his watch. "What's your favourite food?"

"Well, I could really go for some cake right about now, but I'm not sure that's my favourite food as much as I just really want cake."

"What kind of cake?"

"There's this cherry almond thing - trust me, you'd love it."

Releasing Paul's wrist, Reid picked up the chart and pretended to make a notation on it. "Okay, Mr Ryan," Reid instructed, "I want you to look at me."

"I'm already looking at you," Paul pointed out. "You're the only one in the room."

Lifting his head, Reid spoke. "Do you recognise me?"

He frowned. "You're Reid Oliver. Dr Reid Oliver," he finished, hopefully.

"You know that because I told you my name when I first came into the room. Have you ever seen me before that moment?"

Pausing, Paul concentrated. "No," he said eventually. "I've never seen you before - that I can remember. I don't recognise you at all."

"Good," Reid announced, amused at Paul's sudden confusion. "I'd be worried if you had - we've never met before."

Relieved, Paul shrugged. "Oh. That's good, I suppose."

"It is," Reid agreed. "I need you to sign something."

"What is it?" Paul asked, automatically reaching out towards him.

Reid flicked to a random page on the chart and faced it towards Paul. "Here," he said, holding out the pen.

Paul took it easily. "What am I signing?"

"Oh, I just want your autograph," Reid said blandly, "so I can sell it when we become world-famous due to my astounding medical skills."

Chuckling quietly, Paul nonetheless signed what was obviously not a legal document. Taking the chart and the pen back, Reid studied the signature; it's strong lines and smooth curves. Satisfied, he spoke to Paul again. "How old are you?"

"I don't know."

"What's your current living situation?"

"I don't know."

"Job?"

"No idea."

"Religion?"

"Nada."

"Family?"

"I assume I have one, but that's it."

Pretending to scribble something down for the last time, Reid clicked the pen and slotted it back into the pocket. "Thank you for your time, Mr Ryan. Someone will be with you shortly." Turning away, Reid crossed the few steps to the door, pulling it open and forcing his way through the crowd, which had again clustered themselves around the doorway. "Bob, some privacy?" he asked, glancing at Bob and nodding towards the other end of the corridor.

As soon as Bob reached him, Reid launched into his observations. "He knew I was a doctor just from the way I was dressed, so his visual recognition and comprehension skills are fine. He understood and was able to respond to complex words and he was able to make his own jokes, so his language comprehension and production is unaffected. Fine motor skills appear normal. He could talk generally about experiences he'd enjoyed - even if he couldn't remember all the specifics - and generally acted like a normal human being."

"So...what are you saying?" Bob asked carefully.

"He's suffering a classic case of retrograde amnesia, with some source amnesia thrown in for fun. He appears to to retain his procedural memory. This is a win, Bob," Reid told him, pleased. "For a patient who survived an explosion and the trauma of brain surgery to remove a microchip that'd been implanted as part of some whack-job's insane plan, it's a miracle that he only escaped with amnesia."

Nodding contemplatively, Bob sighed. "I know you're right, Reid - and frankly, I agree with you. But the family are not going to be happy at the news that this result is really the best case scenario."

"Well then tell them that amnesia is rarely permanent," Reid instructed. "And that he's, otherwise, a fully functioning human being. They should consider themselves incredibly lucky." Considering his own words, Reid thought about the crowd of people still waiting for news. Truthfully, there were only three of them, but they made it seem as if there were so many more of them. And those three people in particular... "Yeah, that's not going to happen, is it?" Loved ones made the being a doctor thing so much more challenging. "Look, run another MRI and PET scan to be on the safe side - it's what I'd do - and get him properly tested, of course...but we've effectively done all we can do. It's down to therapy, now." With nothing else to say, Reid started taking off Bob's lab coat.

"Dr Oliver..." Bob began plaintively, "...Reid..."

Freezing half-way out of the coat, Reid slid his gaze back towards Bob. He did not like the sound of this. "What now?"

"Would you consider staying until the results are in, so you can fully explain them to the family?"

Why on Earth would he do that? "You have your own neurologist," Reid reminded him, shrugging off the rest of the lab coat. "True, he's nowhere near my level of genius, but he's probably somewhat capable of deciphering lab results."

"Well, that's part of the reason I called you this morning," Bob hedged.

Reid was starting to feel extremely suspicious. "What is?"

"Unfortunately, there's been a rather dramatic family emergency," Bob explained sincerely. "It seems Dr Channing will be out of town for the foreseeable future."

Reid didn't even move. "Convenient timing." Suspiciously convenient. Reid couldn't quite decide if Bob really had it in him or not to make sure Reid stuck around.

Not that that was ever going to happen.

"That as it may be," Bob shrugged, "but I'm not asking you to take over his position at the hospital - just stay for these results. After all," Bob fixed him with plaintive eyes, "you were the one who operated on the patient originally. You're really in the best position for this task."

Despite his own best intentions, Reid felt himself wavering. He desperately tried to talk himself out of it. "I told you on the phone this morning, my flight-"

"3:15, yes," Bob agreed. "If we get Paul in straight away, you'll still have plenty of time to get to the airport."

Dammit. Groaning, Reid thrust the lab coat towards Bob. "Fine. Get the scans done. I'm getting the breakfast I still haven't have time to eat. And if you," Reid raised a hand, pointing a finger at Bob, "make me miss my flight again, you will personally be responsible for upgrading me from business class to first class." Annoyed at his own lack of willpower, Reid stomped off towards the cafeteria, not wanting to see the no doubt smug smile on Bob's face.

The cafeteria wouldn't have been Reid's first choice, but he was hungry and it was the closest cooked food available. The snack machines at the hospital actually weren't that bad, but Reid's stomach wanted something more filling than tiny snack bars and small bags of dried fruit. The line in the cafeteria was moving at a decent rate so Reid quickly grabbed a tray and got in line. Loaded up with toast, bacon and orange juice, Reid sat himself in the corner, eager to be left alone to stew in his own annoyance.

He'd been indulging in a good two minutes of mental castigating and had just bitten viciously into a particularly crispy piece of bacon when Luke was suddenly standing there, as if from nowhere.

"Wow," Luke began awkwardly, trying too hard to be funny, "what did that bacon ever do to you?"

Reid really didn't need this right now. Chewing and swallowing the rest of the bacon, he eyed Luke perceptively. "What are you doing here?"

"Came to see how Aunt Meg's doing," he said, jamming both hands into the front pockets of his jeans. "I know they're not together anymore but he's still Eliza's dad, so..." He trailed off, still looking incredibly uncomfortable.

"If you say so," Reid retorted, wondering when Luke actually got any work done. "In any case, last time I saw her she was loitering outside Mr Ryan's room, generally being annoying."

"Right," Luke nodded firmly. "Of course. Thanks." A few moments later, he sat himself down across from Reid. Without invitation. Again. "You're still in town."

Reid slapped butter onto a fresh piece of toast. "You noticed."

"I'm observant that way," Luke teased, but his smile fell away quickly. "I thought I wouldn't..."

It was as if Reid's mouth had suddenly been hardwired to go into action before his brain did any thinking at all. "What?"

Shrugging, Luke quickly glanced away. "I just didn't think I would see you again, that's all."

Reid had nothing to say to that. There was a good thirty seconds of silence as Reid chomped on his toast until finally, he decided to take pity on Luke - who was obviously feeling awkward as hell about something. Probably that chat in the elevator.

"So," Reid strived to ask as casually as possible, "is this place actually crazy, or what?"

Focusing back on him, Luke produced a tiny smile. "What do you mean?"

"Well, there's all the insanity we know you've been through," Reid gestured towards Luke with his glass of juice, "and there's all the stuff I've seen just since I've been here. I mean," he lowered his glass to the table, "I was brought here because a man had a microchip in his brain, get verbally accosted and generally irritated by his extremely challenging family, then these two morons get into a fight - right in front of me."

"Uh huh," Luke murmured speculatively.

"So then I actually perform the surgery - brilliantly, by the way - get trapped in an elevator for hours on end-"

"Two. Two hours."

"-it was endless torment, let me tell you," Reid paused, sucking butter from his thumb. "So then I finally get out of there, and of course I've missed my flight so I decide - okay, Reid. You've had a crappy day. You deserve some decent food. Only when I get to the diner a pregnant lady collapses right in front of me, so then I have to deal with her and some hysterical gay guy - who should never be in charge of an automobile, by the way - and then there are all these people being..." he gestured vaguely "... _thankful_ and happy with me."

"That's a good thing," Luke said, looking and sounding amused.

"It's creepy," Reid argued. "No, really. And then this morning, Paul Ryan wakes up with amnesia and now suddenly I have to deal with that and somehow I let Bob blackmail me into staying until the test results are in. I mean," he finally concluded, "it feels like there's always something _happening_. Is it always like this? It must be exhausting. Also," he added, because he really did want to know, "did Emily Whatshername really shoot Paul Ryan in the back?"

With a wide, pleased grin on his face, Luke shook his head from side to side. "I guess it does sound kind of crazy. I never really thought about it before." Eyeing Reid's plate, Luke licked his lips. "That bacon looks really good," he mentioned, before glancing over to the line for food.

Reid didn't even think about it, something that horrified him moments later - but it was too late. He was already holding his plate out towards Luke.

"Oh!" Luke exclaimed. "Thanks," he smiled gratefully, taking the last piece of bacon and bringing it up to his mouth with his fingers. Reid tried not to watch as Luke licked his fingers afterwards, but it was a lost cause. He was beginning to suspect that he was a lost cause.

"Yes," Luke said when he finished chewing, then explained when Reid frowned at him. "Emily Stewart shot Paul in the back. Three...four? Years ago."

"That's love for you," Reid snorted. Cutting the last piece of toast in half, he smeered his half with butter, then shoved the plate over to Luke. "So, _Luciano_...tell me about this place."

Happily smeering butter on his own half with the same knife, Luke lifted the toast up and started talking. "Well, I guess the biggest families in the area are the Snyders, Hughes', Stewarts and Ryans - although they all kind of mix together and it's difficult even for me to remember who everyone is in relation to everyone else. But you wanted weird stuff, right? Hmm." He munched thoughtfully on his toast. "Oh, I know - has anyone told you that Paul has psychic visions?"

*

An hour later, Reid was thinking back on that conversation with Luke with warm, fuzzy feelings. Not only because it'd probably been the most enjoyable hour he'd had since stepping foot in Oakdale, but also because he'd much rather be anywhere than stuck trying to explain test results to a group of half-wits who thought they knew better than a well-trained, well-respected and award winning physician. Frustrated beyond words that he'd somehow let Bob talk him into doing his dirty work for him, Reid ended the 'discussion' with a particularly scathing remark about Meg Snyder's sanity - or lack thereof - and marched away, fully intending to leave the hospital immediately and go straight to the airport.

Somehow, Barbara intercepted him before he could.

Coming to an abrupt halt, Reid frowned in confusion before looking around, trying to figure out exactly where she'd come from. "I just left you back...how did you _do_ that?"

"I've lived in this town for years, Dr Oliver. I know all it's secrets."

Yeah, that wasn't creepy at all. "Look, lady, I've made myself abundantly clear that I have nothing more to say to any of you-"

"Let _me_ make _myself_ abundantly clear, Dr Oliver. You don't have to say anything, but you will sure as hell listen to what I have to say to you."

He really needed to start carrying mace. "And what is that, exactly?"

"My son will get his memory back," she informed him, absolutely certain. "And you're not leaving until that happens."

This town - and the people in it - had to be seen to be believed. "Are you actually _threatening_ me?"

"Call it that if you want," she shrugged. "Although good luck getting the police to believe it."

Trying something else - clearly Meg wasn't the only crazy one - Reid briefly pinched the thumb and index finger of his right hand at the bridge of his nose. "As I understood it, your son hasn't been the most pleasant of people to be around for the last few years, anyway. Are you sure you really want him to get his memory back?"

"Absolutely sure," she informed him. "I will not have my son living half a life, Doctor, not knowing who he is. Even if it is a life I don't approve of, at least it will be _his_ life."

So much for that idea. "Mrs Ryan-"

"No, Doctor," she interrupted, "since you've been here, you have belittled, mocked and made fun of us - and couldn't have made it more obvious how quickly you wanted to get away, to hell with your patient. Well, what goes around comes around, Dr Oliver. I was married to the man who, most likely, had a microchip implanted into _his own son's head._ If there's one thing I'm grateful to James Stenbeck for, it's for showing me every kind of evil there is - I learnt very well from his example. I know every way there is to mistreat, blackmail and manipulate someone. So," she continued, heels clipping ominously on the floor as she stepped closer, staring down her nose at him, "I suggest you get comfortable in Oakdale because believe me when I tell you, Doctor, that you are not going _anywhere_ until my son gets his memory back."

*

"...this actually isn't funny anymore."

There was only one response Reid could give to Susie's blindingly obvious statement:

"No shit."

For all that he'd joked about it, even to himself, it seemed that Oakdale really was as chock full of insanity as it'd first appeared. Among the variety of truly mind-boggling situations these people got themselves into, they actually blackmailed each other - something that was only supposed to happen to cheating politicians and bored housewives who couldn't keep a lid on their infidelity.

Not brilliant neurosurgeons who had certainly never done anything to deserve this kind of treatment.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked. "I could come into town and..." her words came to a stop as she clearly tried to think up options.

"And what? Throw my day planner at her?"

"Well," she mused, "seeing as it's electronic, a computer to the head might get the point across."

Chuckling, Reid sat down on the end of the bed. Leaning forward, he rubbed his free hand over the back of his neck and genuinely considered Susie's offer. It would be...nice knowing there was someone in the Town That Sanity Forgot who was actually competent and cared if Reid was about to be eaten by the local cannibals or not.

But he really couldn't see any benefit to it.

"Stay in Dallas," he warned. "Once you step foot in Oakdale, you'll be trapped in a quagmire of mysterious murders, swapped babies and split-personalities. There'll be no escape."

The hell of it was he wasn't even really joking. When he thought about it, it really did seem as if the town of Oakdale itself had been doing everything it could to make sure he didn't leave - from blackmailing mothers to broken down elevators. Even his attraction to Luke Snyder and the sudden, suspicious availability of the Head of Neurology job. It was as if Oakdale itself didn't want him to leave.

Shaking his head at his own fancifulness, at the idea that Oakdale itself was a living, breathing entity capable of independent thought, Reid told himself not to let his current situation get to him and concentrated back on the call.

"But she can't seriously expect you to do this, right?" Susie was asking. "Blackmail aside, she can't expect you to suddenly up sticks from Dallas to Oakdale just like that. What about the Centre and the 'good work' you do there? Surely someone like her, who takes patient care so psychotically seriously could appreciate how much you're needed."

This really must be serious. "You're singing my praises, Susie. Careful. I seem to remember a solemn vow about how that would never happen."

"For once I'm actually taking this seriously," she said in an equally serious tone of voice. "The Centre, everything you've accomplished professionally...your patients. You can't give that up."

"I'm not, if I can help it. I brought these extremely salient points up with Barbara Ryan myself."

"And what did she say?"

_Reid had had enough of trying to tread carefully. "Listen, Ryan's Mother - first of all, I have more than just one patient waiting to be seen. I have over a hundred - a number growing all the time - all patiently waiting their turn to see me in Dallas. Your son is healthy and functioning. You don't get dedicated attention just because he's 'special'. Secondly, you're right. Your son means nothing to me beyond being someone I operated on. We can't all be wailing and gnashing our teeth because Little Johnny has a boo-boo. Nothing about overreacting in that way does anything to help the patient or help make me more effective as a physician."_

_Barbara lifted her chin. "And there's the heart of our dilemma, Doctor - this is about my son. This isn't about you. But fine, let's make it about you," she told him, staring at him imperiously. "You see, I've done my research. 32 years old, graduated out of high school, college and medical school years early. Considered a genius by all of his peers, even those that hate him - which is most of them." None of the actual information came as a surprise. The only surprise was that she knew so damn much about him. "Three years ago," she continued, "you launched your own brainchild - the Judd Neurology Centre, isn't it?"_

_Reid swallowed. "Yeah," he said quietly. "Yeah, it is."_

_"Staffed with a hand-picked team of experts, all highly qualified and more than able to perform any neurological surgery between them."_

_There was no way in hell Reid was about to admit she'd made a fair point. "Not nearly as well as I can."_

_"Despite your ego, you're a smart man," Barbara told him with a smirk. "You'd never build your own little empire so poorly that it would collapse like a house of cards when one piece went missing. People take sick days. Have family emergencies. Vacations."_

_"I don't," he argued, because it was the truth._

_"Dr Oliver," she regarded him with humour and an annoying amount of satisfaction, "you've already been gone for a week. A whole week, and how many times have I seen you take a call? About some kind of emergency that only the great Reid Oliver can deal with?"_

_Dammit. "Fine, fine. If I'm so unimportant, why do you even want me to stay?"_

_Amusement fading, she studied him seriously. "You've never loved anyone, have you?" she gestured towards him. "Anyone at all. Family. Friends. Partner. Child. If you'd ever loved anything other than your own image, you'd know exactly why I was doing this." Smoothing a hand over her hair, she continued. "Now, your staff are coping without you. If that changes, we'll negotiate terms. In the meantime, I suggest you tell Bob Hughes you want Dr Channing's job - it's a good cover for why you're staying in town. I can help make sure that happens, although given your credentials it shouldn't be a problem. As soon as Paul gets his memory back you're free to go on your own way," she informed him coolly, "so if you want to leave as soon as possible, I suggest you put all your efforts into helping my son. If you leave without arranging it with me, if you try to go back to your old life when my son still remembers nothing of who he is...I will dig up every dark little secret you've ever had, and I will destroy you. Your life, your reputation, and everything you've ever cared about. Are we quite clear about this, Dr Oliver?"_

_Still stunned, possibly in shock, for once all Reid could say was: "Yes."_

Susie let out a frustrated sigh. "You're really going to do this?"

"I honestly don't know if I can afford not to. If I don't stay, whatever she'll ultimately accuse me of..." Reid didn't even know what it could be beyond malpractice, which was bad enough, but Barbara's attitude showed she didn't do anything small. She'd go for something big. Even an accusation that ultimately ended up going nowhere could undo everything he'd worked for when it reached the wrong ears.

"How should we play it this end?" she asked. "Leave of absence for personal reasons?"

Reid doubted anyone at the Centre would actually buy that because they knew he had no personal life to speak of. But if he wanted to go straight back when this nightmare was over and done with... "Yeah. Yeah, I guess so." Stretching out on the bed, Reid lay on his back, stared at the ceiling and spoke quietly. "I can't believe this is happening." He'd been trying to keep his mind busy since the ultimatum from Barbara, going over everything she'd said, deciding how to make it work, discussing it with Susie. But when he stopped and just _existed_...it was horrible. This level of manipulation. Really fucking horrible.

"Neither can I," Susie confessed. "You actually met someone who has bigger balls than you do."

Surprised, Reid broke out into a laugh. "I think I might actually miss you, Miss Johnson."

"Don't tell my boyfriend that," she warned, before sighing again. "Seriously, this is shitty, Reid. Your entire life is in Dallas."

Reid kept staring at the ceiling and didn't know he was going to say it until he did. "Career."

"Sorry?"

"My career," Reid told her, sitting back up. "My career's in Dallas."

*

Determined to get on top of this as soon as possible - the sooner he had the full resources of the hospital at his command in his attempts to 'heal' Paul, the sooner he could make his escape - Reid headed straight back to the hospital. Bob was looking lost near oncology when Reid pounced.

"Bob."

"Reid!" Bob announced in surprise, then made a show of checking his watch with a sly grin. "Don't tell me I owe you an upgrade."

Reid didn't even pretend to try to appreciate the attempt at humour. "The Head of Neurology job?"

Realising Reid meant business, Bob lowered his arm and stopped any show of levity. "What about it?"

"I want it."

Clearly shocked, Bob's eyebrows climbed even further up his forehead than usual. "Not that it wouldn't be a great boon for _Memorial_ to have someone of your standing with us permanently, but what brought on this change of heart?"

"Oh, you know," Reid shrugged, tapping the fingers of his right hand against his thigh, "think I need a change. Dallas is...so big. And Oakdale is so...small."

Bob just frowned at him, clearly not understanding. "Yes, and?"

For all that he'd been thinking earlier about the best way to do things, he probably should've considered how to convince Bob that he genuinely wanted the job. "Well, as it turns out, size matters after all." Bob didn't laugh. Bob didn't even crack a smile. Reid tried again. "Look, do the reasons even matter? I want the job, you want me to have the job, we both know I'll be brilliant at the job - this is a pretty simple equation, even for a town as ridiculous as Oakdale." Uh, yeah. He should've thought that through, too. "Where I really want to stay. And live. The pie here is _amazing._ "

Considering Reid's pitch - even Reid himself had to admit it was pretty shabby, but at least he had his impressive body of work to fall back on - Bob still looked confused. "I just want to be sure you understand how big a change this will be, Reid. It's such an apparently sudden decision and I can't believe for one moment that you'd just abandon your Centre-"

"Oh, I won't be," Reid interrupted. "Once I get the job, patients that they simply can't help without me at the Centre can be sent here, or vice versa. The odd trip to perform a surgery now and then is pretty common in a specialist field, right, Bob?" Leaning forward, he clapped Bob on the shoulder. The move felt really familiar and when Reid suddenly remembered he was copying Brad Snyder, he snatched his hand back as if he'd been burnt.

Bob started looking amused again. "Got it all figured out, have you, Doctor Oliver?"

It didn't escape Reid's notice that they were back to titles and surnames. "Considering the variables now will make it a smoother transition in the future. So, come on, Bob," Reid questioned, "what do you say?"

Bringing a hand up to his face, absently rubbing his chin - Reid hadn't seen anything like it before outside a '70's cop show - Bob pondered the offer. Eventually, he lowered the hand and spoke. "Well, Reid, it's clear that having you here as Head of Neurology would be a huge benefit to the hospital."

Clapping his hands together, Reid nodded. "Glad to hear it."

"We do deal with an abnormally high number of head injuries on a regular basis," Bob admitted. "However..."

Reid's hands stayed clasped around each other. "However?"

"Well I can't just give you the job," Bob explained like it was obvious and Reid actually felt like he was being patronised. By _Bob Hughes._ "The position has to be fairly advertised, internally and externally, for at least two weeks - otherwise we leave ourselves open to litigation."

"Oh." Reid's shoulders slumped.

"And you have to go through the full application process, just like anyone else."

His shoulders slumped either further. "You mean like...application forms, interviews, references?"

"That's right."

Oh, this was just piling indignity on top of indignity. He was Reid Oliver - he did not _apply for jobs_. They were _offered to him_. "Sounds excrutiating. But fun," he quickly added with a smile that was probably a little demented.

Bob seemed pleased by this development. That, or his eyesight was failing. "If you're still interested, I can get you an application form right now."

Reid wanted to torture Barbara Ryan in interesting and creative new ways. "Absolutely. Can't wait."

"Then come with me," Bob invited and led Reid out of the corridor. They ended up in Bob's office, where he spent what felt like five minutes rummaging around inside a creaky old filing cabinet. Finally, his hand emerged clutching what had to be an entire ream of paper. "Here we are," he announced, thumping the papers onto the table with a loud _whump._

Reid stared at Bob's desk with horror. "Don't tell me that's the application form."

"There's been a few additions over the years - mostly from Human Resources. And well, you're a doctor. You know how well we have to protect ourselves these days."

That was depressingly true. "Does everyone who applies for a job have to fill in all this?" he asked, reaching a hand out to flick through the first few pages.

"For a Head of Department job, absolutely."

"Great," Reid muttered, grasping the pile and heaving it up into his arms. "So, two weeks, right?"

"Yes, but you really should get your application in as soon as possible. The longer your potential employers are aware of you, the better."

"Great," he muttered again, speaking through clenched teeth. "Can't wait to get started. It'll be the highlight of my career so far." Stupid town with it's stupid people and it's stupid blackmailers and it's stupid, stupid men with stupidly attractive blond hair.

"Good luck, Reid," Bob informed him cheerily. "I'd tell you to give me a call if you're not sure about anything, but that would be giving you an unfair advantage, wouldn't it?"

Scowling, taking in the badly-hidden amusement, Reid decided right then and there that Bob Hughes was an evil son of a bitch.

*

Still determined to get himself through this entire painful process as quickly as humanly possible and thus back to Dallas as quickly as humanly possible, Reid planted himself at a booth in _Al's_ and set about covering the table with the biggest job application known to man.

Henry wasn't thrilled at Reid's mere presence - and at the fact that he was co-opting an entire table for his paperwork during the dinnertime rush. But when Reid ordered a large plate of fries with a chocolate milkshake and told Henry to keep them coming, he at least stopped complaining.

Most of the time.

It took Reid barely any time at all to realise that the application forms - multiple - were the most confusing, mind-boggling and utterly bewildering things he had ever laid his hands on - and that included the human brain. If the brain was a grey mess of spaghetti, this was a giant brown dog turd. You spent hours sifting through it, searching for something, anything, just one redeeming feature to make the experience worthwhile. In the end you were left with nothing but a bad taste in your mouth.

Reid decided the best approach was to be methodical. One step at a time. Rather than staring at the mountain of paper with horror at the very idea of having to fill in all of _that_ , he was going to concentrate on one page at a time. Complete one page, then worry about the next. It was the way he performed surgery and the way he lived most of his life and had served him well.

Picking up one of the variety of pens he'd brought with him, Reid tugged the lid off and concentrated on the first box.

_Name of Applicant_

That one, at least, was easily dealt with. Cricking his neck, Reid leant forward and got to work.

Fifteen minutes - that felt like a lifetime - later, Reid couldn't help but wonder how even Oakdale was so behind the times that Bob didn't have an electronic version of their application forms.

Bob probably didn't even know how to check his e-mail.

Bob probably didn't even have a computer.

When he thought about it, Reid honestly couldn't remember seeing one sitting on the desk in Bob's office. That explained _so much._

Slurping at his milkshake through a straw - truly, the best way to ever drink a milkshake - Reid froze, mouth still wrapped around the straw, when he looked up just as Luke stepped into the diner. He'd clearly come straight from work, dressed as he was in smart pants and a shirt. He'd clearly also had a long day, as his tie had been loosened and was listing to one side, his suit jacket was over his shoulder, hanging from the fingers of his right hand, and his stupid, stupidly attractive hair was sticking out in a million different directions, as if he - or someone else, Reid thought with an absurd flash of envy - had been running their hands through it for hours.

The surge of lust was so strong, Reid felt like one of those cartoon dogs who had just seen Betty Boop for the first time.

He was so distracted, in fact, that he didn't realise he was still drinking until suddenly he was sucking up nothing but air, the event producing a loud, echoing sucking noise and causing Reid to break out into a surprise coughing fit.

Christ, this was ridiculous. He felt like such a moron. It was high school all over again.

And if _that_ wasn't a ridiculous thought, he really didn't know what was.

All the commotion, of course, gained Luke's attention. Instead of making it to the counter where he'd obviously been heading, suddenly he was walking towards Reid, his face a combination of pleased surprise and confusion. "Are you okay?" was naturally the first thing he asked. Luke was just that _nice._

"Fine," Reid said, only his throat was still shot to hell and it came out as a weak croak. Clearing his throat rather loudly, he tried again. "Fine."

"You're still here," Luke noted warmly. "Again."

Attempting to regain his equanimity, Reid pushed his glass away and glared. "I'm curious," he began slowly, "your fascination with stating the blindingly obvious - is it a genetic or learned trait?"

Not in the least bit offended - something Reid found extremely frustrating - Luke swung his jacket from over his shoulder and hung it over the back of the chair opposite Reid. When he, once again, sat himself down at Reid's table Reid couldn't help but mutter, "I could ask the same thing about your inability to ask permission before sitting at someone else's table."

Though he plainly heard the comment Luke didn't acknowledge it at all, instead frowning at Reid's plate and announcing randomly, "You're always eating when we bump into each other."

Reid liked food. A lot. Reid also wasn't feeling very charitable at that particular moment and didn't want to prove Luke Snyder right. "Or," he suggested, "I happen to be innocently eating some food, minding my own business, when you appear like a ninja out of nowhere and invite yourself to sit at my table."

Luke still didn't seem offended. "You say that like it's a bad thing. And I always wanted to be a ninja," he grinned, and damned if Reid didn't feel his own lips beginning to twitch in response.

Clamping down on that instinctive response, he raised his glass up and yelled across the diner, "Hank!"

"Don't call me Hank!" travelled back across the diner, but Reid could already see Henry reaching for a clean glass.

"So, I heard Paul Ryan woke up," Luke stated after Reid had placed his glass back on the table. "Is that why you're still in town?"

Technically, yes. "Not exactly," Reid replied, nodding towards the swathes of paper currently swallowing the table.

"Yeah, that was my next question," Luke admitted with a wry smile. "Are you staging your own anti-recycling protest? 'Kill A Few Trees For Charity'?"

This time he couldn't stop a small chuckle. "Not quite. Believe it or not, I'm applying for a job."

"Where?" Luke asked quickly, intensely. 

Interesting. Reid held his gaze. "Memorial. Head of Neurology."

The smile that Luke wore transformed his entire face. "You're staying?" he questioned eagerly. "Permanently?"

"Oh, God, no," Henry suddenly said, and Reid turned to see Henry frozen in place, nearly - but not quite - at their table. With a milkshake in his hand, he'd obviously been about to bring Reid's replacement drink.

Passing his old glass to Luke, Reid nodded towards Henry. Luke gamely swapped the old glass for the new one and passed it to Reid. Eventually, Henry swivelled away. "If anyone needs me," he declared, crossing the diner, "I'll be laying down somewhere with a cool cloth pressed to my forehead. Trying to wish this nightmare away."

Amused, Reid looked at Luke who turned back from watching Henry's antics and seemed just as entertained as Reid was. They grinned stupidly at each for a few moments before Reid realised what it was he was actually doing. Schooling the smile from his face, he cleared his throat. "I don't know about permanently," he finally explained, because really, who wanted to live in Oakdale at all? Never mind permanently. "But definitely for a while. Assuming I get the job."

"Of course you'll get it!" Luke argued enthusiastically, like Reid was the dumbest person in the world for even considering otherwise. "You're a genius."

It was the kind of information Reid was aware of, that he heard all the time. But when Luke said it, God help him, it sounded like… _praise._ Reid started feeling all _fuzzy_ again. Staying in Oakdale was a really, really bad idea for a wide variety of reasons.

But mostly because he'd be living in the same town as Luke Snyder and couldn't do a damn thing about it.

"Well, we'll see whether I'm a genius or not," Reid said, shifting in his chair, "because I can't make head nor tails of these application forms."

He only realised exactly what he'd said and exactly who he'd said it to when Luke announced, "I'll help," and whipped the first piece of paper from the pile.

"You don't need to-"

Holding up a hand to silence him, Luke's eyes roamed over the paper, absorbing the information. They moved rapidly, left to right - then stopped moving completely. Glancing up at, Luke squinted at him, almost accusingly. "You're younger than I thought." Lowering his gaze back down, he then continued reading as if he'd never stopped.

Leaving him to it, Reid concentrated back on the latest sheet of paper he'd been working on when Luke had strolled into view. He scribbled down a few answers and when he glanced back up a minute or two later, Luke was staring at him curiously.

Lowering the sheet of paper, Luke spoke. "Why are you staying?"

"Why am I staying?" Reid mimicked.

"Why are you staying," Luke confirmed. "No offense, Reid, but you've complained about pretty much every aspect of life in Oakdale - frequently and in great detail. Why stay here after all that?"

Reid didn't move. "Does it matter?"

"I guess not," Luke confessed. "I'm just curious."

"About how people work," Reid remembered. "You said that."

Luke nodded.

Contemplating a response, Reid tried to think up some suitable answers. Something convincing. There wasn't much that came to mind, but he managed to come up with a few. "I'll be a big fish in a small pond," he said firmly. "The food in _Al's_ is frankly amazing - although you may not tell Hank that on pain of death. Everyone seems to think I'm a hero just for doing my job, which is pretty cool. And I don't have to deal with traffic in and out of work every day which, let me tell you, is worth the cost of moving here alone."

Luke didn't seem entirely convinced, but he did manage a smile. "So it's not that bad here after all," he gloated, plainly proud of his hometown.

Reid had to concede defeat, if only to make the lie believable. "Oakdale has its attractions." He'd meant it innocently, he absolutely had at the moment he'd originally said it. But the moment after he'd said it he grasped the unintended double-meaning and from the flush spreading over Luke's face and the way he didn't look away when Reid held his gaze, Luke had grasped it too.

And for the first time, Reid knew that Luke was just as attracted to him as he was to Luke. He'd suspected, of course, but Luke appeared so pleased and happy about just about everything in general, that it'd been difficult for Reid to figure out if Luke really was flirting or just being nice. Reid wasn't used to the appearance of innocence, and he'd be lying if he said that wasn't part of the reason he found Luke so attractive.

And now he could also tell that although Luke was attracted to him, Luke had no idea what to do about it whatsoever. Given the small size of the town and it's equally small population, he'd probably never been seriously attracted to anyone else since dating Noah. Providing Luke with an out - for now - Reid grabbed a random piece of paper and when he saw what was printed on it, realised it was perfect for causing a distraction.

And, actually, it really did need commenting on. This was just _insane_.

"Look at this," Reid declared, "this is just what I'm talking about. Why is this in the application and not in the contract when you actually get the job?"

"What is it?" Luke asked, colour fading from his cheeks.

"It reads - and I'm quoting directly here," he pointed out, " _You and your next of kin agree to indemnify Memorial Hospital against any responsibility or any form of legal redress in the event that you experience any of the following while at work:_

_Kidnapping_  
Torture  
Blackmail  
Accidental beheading  
Natural disasters  
Unnatural disasters  
Stalking  
Memory loss  
Adultery  
Paralysis  
Previously unidentified tropical diseases 

I mean, the list goes on," Reid said, amazed, flicking through the next few sheets of paper. Spotting one in particular, he frowned. " _Unintentional incest?_ " Reid didn't know exactly who ran the legal department at Memorial Hospital - he had no idea at all, in fact - but whoever it was, they sure as hell knew what a weird place Oakdale was. Even if no one else did.

He almost found it comforting.

"Well," Luke shrugged, "they're probably just covering all their bases. I know there were at least…oh, five cases brought against people in Oakdale last year."

Reid stared at him. "Five? Just five? A town as crazy as this, with microchips in brains, cheating farmers at every turn and psychopathic blackmailers hiding under every leaf? And only five people sued each other last year?"

"We never used to have any," Luke defended, like Oakdale existed within its own little bubble, independent of the state - née, country - it existed within.

But then, Reid realised, it kind of did. Oakdale really did seem to exist by its own set of rules, regardless of how the rest of the country lived.

"Here," Luke offered, snatching the paper out of Reid's hand. "Let me see." He devoured the information on those sheets, too, quickly flicking from one to the other. "Ha, here it is," he told Reid, turning it towards him and pointing right at the bottom of the last item of the list.

There it was. Right beneath _Possession by The Devil_ :

_NB: This also applies to potential employees._

"In case something happens during the application or interview process, I guess," Luke shrugged.

Reid wondered how many hapless doctors had tragically lost their lives while applying for a job at _Memorial Hospital_. Then wondered if he might be better off going up against Barbara Ryan after all.

But then Luke announced that they should keep working. And then ordered a chocolate milkshake himself, telling Reid they were his favourite because when his Grandmother was fighting cancer - the first time - the two of them used to come to _Al's_ and drink them together whenever she needed cheering up.

And when Luke told him that simply listing his successful surgeries was not an appropriate response to the request to _Describe, in detail, why you are the only candidate we should consider for this position_ , and that he actually needed to describe his qualities as a human being instead, Reid let him change it.

After all, Luke was a writer.

*

Bright and early the next morning, Reid strode determinedly through the automatic doors granting access to _Memorial_. After a night where he'd spent not enough time sleeping and too much time thinking about Luke Snyder, Reid had decided to focus on nothing but the immediate task at hand. That way, he was sure, these inappropriate and stupidly romantic thoughts would cease immediately. The whole thing was ridiculous, anyway. This...infatuation with Luke would never go anywhere for a variety of reasons - mostly because Luke had a boyfriend; moron though he obviously was. Reid was capable of many things, but he had no interest whatsoever in purposefully getting mixed up in an existing relationship. It never led to anything other than injured parties, bitter resentments and - most importantly - threats of physical violence. Reid had his hands to think about. Getting involved with anyone in a relationship - toxic though it appeared to be - just wasn't worth the trouble.

With this focus and his current task renewed in his mind, Reid set about locating Bob - only for once, Bob didn't seem to be anywhere at all. Finally reaching the conclusion that he'd actually have to ask one of the local minions for help, Reid turned around and promptly tripped over a mop.

The only upside, as far as Reid could see, was that he managed to avoid falling flat on his face; only stumbling a few yards and not quite losing his grip on the laptop bag he'd shoved the paperwork into. Turning to one side, he was completely unsurprised to see Hughes Junior Junior watching the scene unfold with a great amount of 'surprise'.

"Careful, Dr O," Casey warned innocently.

If this kept up, Reid was going to have bruised shins for weeks, maybe even months. And not for any fun reason, possibly involving Luke.

Right, he wasn't thinking about that.

Reid plainly hadn't ingratiated himself to Casey at all in the last week, and he honestly didn't give a crap about it. He did, however, give a crap about the potential head trauma he was bound to suffer from eventually if these incidents continued as regularly as they'd occurred so far. Loathe though he was to admit it, it was in his own best interests to try and build some kind of 'relationship' with Casey Hughes, if only so he wouldn't have to worry about tripping over a mop every time he wasn't paying attention.

It grated on his nerves that the hospital janitor apparently wielded that much power over his life, but that was just the way things were going lately. If it wasn't hospital janitors, it was the mother of one of his patients. If it wasn't the mother of one of his patients, it was a cute guy with stupid hair. All of them, in their own way, were forcing him to do something he didn't want to - fake a friendship, stay in town, care about them.

More reason than ever to get this over with as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, there was only one thing Reid could think of that he and Casey both had in common that they actually gave a crap about. So, rather than following his first instinct and verbally eviscerating Casey for being so stupidly immature as to potentially cause more injuries in a place that was already treating the sick, injured and dying (and realising that nepotism actually was working well in Oakdale, because Casey still actually had a job), Reid addressed Hughes Junior Junior about the one subject he wanted to talk about least.

"Luke Snyder."

Smug expression transforming into a frown, Casey balanced his arms on the handle end of the mop. "What about him?"

"How long have you known him?"

"Years. Since we were kids," Casey continued, studying Reid suspiciously. "Why do _you_ want to know?"

Reid didn't explain immediately. "He has a boyfriend, right? Noah something." He obviously knew the answer to this himself, but for once didn't want to appear too knowledgeable about the subject at hand.

"Is that a problem?" Casey asked darkly, subconsciously broadening his stance to look intimidating.

Automatically, Reid rolled his eyes. He couldn't help it and wouldn't have stopped himself even if he could. "Seriously, the people in this town," he complained. "Not every question about a couple of gay guys is automatically heading towards 'I'm a homophobic ass'."

Casey began to relax his body. "Well, half the shoe fits."

"True enough," Reid conceded. "The only reason I'm bothering to ask when you can't stand me, I can't stand you, and we generally can't stand each other, is the other day I saw this Noah guy looking pretty chummy with someone else and...it didn't sit right."

Beginning to look reluctantly impressed, Casey plunged his mop back into the bucket in his cleaning trolley and took a step closer to Reid. "You actually felt bad about someone else?"

"Yeah, don't spread it around," Reid said seriously. "Reputation, being an ass, you know."

Casey contemplated Reid for a few seconds. "What did this other guy look like? I'm assuming it was a guy," he quickly added, as if he'd only just considered the idea that it might not have been a guy at all.

Interested that Casey's brain had gone there at all - and exactly what it might mean - Reid nodded. "Lanky hair. Weird scarf-"

"His college advisor," Casey interrupted immediately, clearly recognising him from that brief description alone. "Mason." Good. "What were they doing?"

"Well, they weren't humping each other-"

"Thanks for sharing that, man," Casey interrupted, bringing his hands up to either side of his head dramatically, "because that's a horrifying image I'll never get out of my mind. I'm fine with the gay stuff, don't get me wrong," he promised, "but I really don't want to picture it. Or see it. Or listen to it."

Reid smirked. "They were sitting together - they couldn't have been sitting any closer if they'd been surgically sewn that way. Scarf Guy had his arm around Noah, who really didn't seem to think it was out of place."

Seeming surprised, Casey was nonetheless apparently determined to give Noah a fair chance. "That doesn't prove anything."

"Didn't say it did," Reid pointed out. "Just said that it felt wrong. Luke is..." How the hell did you describe Luke Snyder? Rather than trying to do that, Reid instead focused on the things Luke had done for him - calming him down in the elevator, helping him with the application, generally keeping Reid entertained. "Loathe as I am to admit it, Mr Snyder has helped me out a few times since I arrived in this hellhole. He's not as...irritating as the rest of the local populace. I don't like owing anybody anything, so..."

"This is your way of paying him back," Casey extrapolated.

"You could say that."

Studying him, Casey broadened his stance again. "And how do I know you're not just trying to cause trouble?"

"You don't," Reid replied bluntly. "However, I can't see any advantage to deliberately making you hate me more than you already do. Can you?"

Apparently having no answer to that, Casey turned his testosterone back down a notch. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"I'm not trying to break up Oakdale's hottest - and apparently only - gay couple," Reid defended, "I'm an ass, but I'm not that much of an ass."

"So?"

"This is seriously not my department," Reid huffed. "This is why I told you; so you could deal with it. I don't know. I didn't go to Luke because I think it would just hurt him more than anything else. Keep an eye out? Kick his ass if he's being an ass and doesn't realise it?" It wouldn't surprise Reid at all if the people in Oakdale somehow managed to have entire affairs without ever being aware of it. "I'm assuming you know him pretty well."

"Really well," Casey confirmed. "And...actually, Doc, you may know him better than you think."

This sounded promising. "Oh?"

"Well," Casey began, like a veteran launching into an old war story, "this one time, Noah married this Iraqi girl, Ameera-"

"Oh yeah, the green card deal."

"You know about it," Casey nodded. "So, Luke had to live a lie for months, right? The ICE were on our asses all the time, we all had to lie about everything, Luke and Noah could barely get a moment alone together. And then a few months later, Luke and I got into a liiiiiiiittle bit of trouble at college and all Noah had to do was lie once to the dean, just say that no, he didn't know anything about it - and he couldn't do it. He turned us in. When Luke had lied for _months_ to keep Noah's secret. That never sat right with me. I mean, man, we even pretended to be boyfriends to throw them off."

It was clear, without a shadow of a doubt, that Reid's initial assessment of Noah Mayer had been spot-on.

But that wasn't what Reid focused on.

"Please tell me there are pictures," he smirked, "of a commitment ceremony with the two of you arguing over wallpaper and hugging your African twins."

"Bite me, Dr O."

"You're really not my type," Reid pointed out, "too many muscles."

"You can never have too much of a good thing," Casey argued, flexing his right bicep. There was a moment when he seemed to realise who he was actually joking around with, and he quickly lowered his arm. "So, um. Yeah. Noah's my friend, because he is pretty cool most of the time. But Luke's my man, my bud. You know?"

"I think there was something in that sentence that approximated the English language," Reid retorted, "but I was able to translate what you were trying to say."

"Don't assume this changes anything between us," Casey warned, "I still think you're an ass."

Reid could respect that, as long as he stopped being knee-capped by cleaning supplies. "And I still think you're a Neanderthal with a steroid addiction, so we're even."

They shared a moment of mutual non-loathing, when a nurse came running around the corner. "Casey! Projectile vomiter in x-ray!"

Sighing, Casey turned back towards his trolley and started guiding it away. "I love my job. Really, it's the highlight of my day."

Reid certainly didn't envy him. Of course, showing empathy was entirely out of the question. "I'm sure someone extremely intelligent once said that we end up with the jobs we deserve."

Casey just flipped him off.

Overall, Reid was quite pleased with the way that had gone. The one downside - and it was a pretty damn big one, he had to acknowledge - was the fact that, once again, despite vowing to have nothing to do with Luke's personal life, he'd barrelled head first into Luke's personal life. True, it'd originally been intended as a ploy to gain some kind of positive reaction from Casey, but in the end everything he'd said to him had been the truth. Reid did feel like he owed Luke something, did want to pay him back, but - despite the way he'd always lived his life - didn't like the idea of potentially hurting Luke by telling him how he'd seen Noah and Mason interacting.

Reid was just considering if there was something in the area that simply sucked all intention right out of you, some kind of intention-sucking monster or a local TV broadcast that hypnotised you into numbness, leaving you a mindless drone left to the whims of a particularly cruel fate, when Bob came walking around the corner.

"Reid!" he announced gladly, striding towards him enthusiastically. "Excellent, excellent. Just the man I'm looking for."

Reid eyed him suspiciously. "Really?" No one was ever _that_ pleased to see him.

"Of course," Bob laughed. "I was coming to find you. I've just come out of a Board Meeting and - provided you still want it, of course - the job's yours."

Staring at him, Reid swore he could actually visualise every single sheet of paper currently resting in the bag hanging from his right hand. His mind actually stuttered over the idea of filling all of that paperwork, hours with Luke, hours by himself, for nothing. "I-You....we....what?"

"The job's yours for the taking," Bob repeated, obviously extremely pleased with himself and life in general.

Reid was actually flabbergasted. "What about the application form?" He jiggled the bag from side to side. "What about doing things the right way to avoid a lawsuit?" What about making Reid fill that endless crap in for _hours?_

"Well, yes, that was a concern of mine yesterday," Bob admitted, "but then I was discussing it with Kim over dinner last night, and she brought up some extremely excellent points about what you'll bring to the hospital, even beyond your own exceptional medical skills. Your name, your reputation. In fact, she was so enthusiastic, so certain you'd be a perfect fit here at _Memorial_ that I immediately got onto the phone and arranged an emergency meeting to see if we might be able to expedite matters."

Kim? Kim Hughes?

"And you can?" Reid asked dumbly.

"The board's in full agreement," Bob announced proudly, "you're welcome to start immediately."

This was entirely too easy. Reid had originally just wanted to be given the job and now that he actually had? Way too easy. "And it'll be entirely legal?"

"I confess, I don't quite know how that side of things will work out," Bob conceded, "but our legal people are putting things into motion at this very moment to ensure that it's all above board. All being well, you'll be signing your contract by lunch."

He should've been...well, not thrilled, but certainly satisfied that the plan was falling into place - and that at least he was going to be paid for staying in this ridiculous place. But mostly all Reid could concentrate on was:

_Kim Hughes?_

They'd barely had even one conversation and Reid was more than certain he hadn't been polite to her. Why would she, of all people, be so eager for Reid to get the job?

The answer came in the form of laughter.

A few moments later, Kim Hughes came walking into view - with Barbara Ryan. The two women were walking with each other, arms linked together, laughing joyously about something. Coming to a stop a few feet away from Reid, Barbara raised a hand to her chest as her laughter dissipated, separating from Kim.

"Dr Oliver," she greeted with a huge, evil grin. It made Reid think of the Cheshire Cat. In a nightmare. "Kim and I were just discussing the good news. You must be _so_ pleased."

It all made sense, now. Barbara's comment about 'helping' to make sure Reid got the job. She'd obviously used her friendship with Kim to manipulate Bob into stepping up the process. "Oh, absolutely, Mrs Ryan. It's _thrilling_. I don't know how I'll ever be able to contain my joy."

"It means so much to me," she said emotionally, her eyes even starting to water, "that you care so much about helping my son that you decided to stay."

Bob was suddenly right by them, clapping Reid on the shoulder and smiling proudly. "Dr Oliver may have a...unique way of dealing with his cases, but it's always been clear to me that he cares deeply for his patients. We're extremely proud to have him working here with us at _Memorial_."

Both Bob and Kim smiled at him genuinely and as Barbara smirked at him, face just out of their view, Reid was forced to admit that she was kind of magnificent.

*

Reid did indeed get his hands on the contract by lunchtime - for once, this town actually did something right - and it was almost as big as the original application forms had been. Reid assumed it contained much of the same legalese protecting _Memorial_ against prosecution, and the same long, long list of bizarre happenings he couldn't sue for - but unfortunately, he wasn't actually able to check.

Due to Barbara Ryan.

Again.

"Here it is," Bob announced, walking into the corridor where Reid was busy looking over the latest test results from Paul Ryan. Kim and Barbara were hot on his heels.

Spying the wad of paper in Bob's hands, Reid shut the folder he'd been looking through. "Ah. This is where I sign my life away, is it? Or my soul to the devil?" He cast a pointed look to his own version of the devil.

Bob chuckled. "Only for as long as you work here," he joked. "Now, we of course strongly advise that you read through it thoroughly before you sign - perhaps even get some legal representation to look over it, make sure everything's as you'd like it to be. Better we resolve any problems now, before you actually sign, rather than after you sign when things get much more complicated to deal with."

Reid didn't consider himself an idiot; at least rarely at all until lately and certainly never in relation to his career. He'd been thinking along the same lines himself, wondering how long it'd take for him to get the contract or a copy of it to his preferred legal office back in Dallas, but his current thoughts on that subject stopped cold when Barbara spoke up.

"Oh, I doubt that's even really necessary, Bob," she argued sweetly. "We all know that with you as Chief of Staff, there's absolutely no way any of the employee contracts would contain anything untoward. Isn't this the eleventh year in the row now that you've won Oakdale's _Employer of the Year_ for your fairness and generosity of spirit?"

Puffing his chest out, Bob stuttered a little as Kim regarded him proudly. "Well-I...thank you, Barbara, that does happen to be true. It's just that I'm not personally responsible for creating the content of the contracts - that's down to our legal department. Who are absolutely excellent," he rushed to add. "I don't want to sound as if they don't know how to do their jobs-"

"You never could, darling," Kim assured him.

"It's just that a legal contract is binding," he continued, concerned. "I always like to make sure that our new employees are absolutely satisfied that everything is just as they expected."

More likely, he wanted to make sure that the newest unfortunates on the _Memorial_ payroll realised exactly what they'd gotten themselves into.

"Which just proves my point about how fair you are," Barbara said smarmily. "But Dr Oliver has expressed such an interest in starting work here immediately that I really can't see him wanting to put it off, even for a single-"

"Okay, okay," Reid interrupted, having had more than enough of this entire production, snapping his fingers at Bob. "Contract. Now."

Kim looked surprised, then quite frankly appalled. Reid decided it was deserved for being so easily manipulated.

In the end, Reid started his new career as auspiciously as it probably deserved - hunched over the counter at the nurses station, scribbling his signature and the date onto a piece of paper while the nurse standing behind the counter looked like she was about to burst into tears.

Something told Reid new employees weren't vetted for emotional stability.

As soon as it was signed and dated, Barbara snatched the contract from the counter and passed it over to Bob. "There you go, Bob. Why don't you make sure this gets to the right place?" she asked, yet somehow not making it a question, tapping a hand firmly on top. "I should probably go and check in at work - make up for some of that lost time."

Bob seemed vaguely confused. "Yes, yes," he replied, clutching the contract. "Quite."

"I'll be back to check on Paul later," she informed them, although she was looking only at Reid.

Reid watched her go, deliberately waiting until she was out of view before speaking to Bob and Kim. "Oh!" he snapped his fingers, feigning realisation of something he'd forgotten. "I meant to ask her...something. About Paul." Yeah, at least that sounded vaguely convincing. "I'll be right back." Jogging after Barbara, he caught up with her just as she pressed the call button for the elevator. "Hey, Mistress of Darkness."

Glancing towards him, she smirked, shook her head and looked back up at the floor display. "Keep flattering me like that and people will talk, Doctor."

Reid ignored her, moving straight on to the reason he'd wanted to talk to her. "Listen, do whatever it is you crazily think you have to do," he told her, "I can almost respect your commitment, Looney Tunes though it obviously is. But leave Bob out of it."

Curious, she swivelled towards Reid, fixing him with a stare. "Why should it matter to you?"

A perfectly valid question. "It doesn't," he defended. "Not really. But Bob's actually been...decent towards me, even more than people from his era generally think people should act. Social niceties, respect and good manners, that kind of crap. You playing him the way you have been..." Reid shrugged. "He doesn't deserve that."

"Well," Barbara enunciated dramatically, "who would've believed it? Reid Oliver has a conscience. And actually seems to be _caring_ about someone from this...what was it you called it when you were ranting the other day? This town full of half-wits, inbred idiots and underachieving rednecks?"

Yeah, that sounded like something he'd say.

"In any case, you needn't worry about Bob anymore - I have what I want. For now. But this is _glorious_ news," she continued smugly. "You're actually caring about someone from a town you can't stand, which just proves that absolutely anything is possible - including giving my son his memory back. I suggest you run with this theme while you can," she advised slyly, walking into the elevator as the doors opened. Turning around to face him, she pressed the button for what was presumably the ground floor, then posed elegantly in the middle of the elevator. "Have a wonderful day, Doctor," she instructed, eyes twinkling with maniacal glee, "I certainly have."

She was still kind of magnificent.

And evil.

When Reid returned to the nurses station, Bob and Kim had already left. Getting straight down to work, he pushed open the door to Paul Ryan's room and walked inside. As had almost constantly been the case since Reid had arrived in town, Paul wasn't alone. On this particular occasion, it was Emily Stewart who was sitting by his bedside, eyes snapping up from something she was typing on a laptop.

Paul was sleeping quietly and Reid had no need to wake him at the moment, so he nodded at Emily and placed the folder he was still carrying on the tray table sitting at the end of Paul's bed. "Miss Stewart."

"Doctor," she greeted acerbically.

Reid flicked the folder open, taking a pen out. "Working hard?"

"Time waits for no one in the newspaper industry," she replied, tapping the next few keys with a particularly large amount of enthusiasm. "Not even me."

That was his own fault for asking. "How's the patient?"

"You'd know if you were ever here," Emily snapped back, her typing once again becoming a reflection of her emotional state.

"Yes, because that kind of response is incredibly useful when I'm trying to assess a patient's condition," Reid replied calmly, noting something down in the folder. "I'm here now, and unfortunately for all of us it seems like I'm staying for the foreseeable future. So, let's try this again," Reid instructed, finally lifting his gaze and looking at her. "How is the patient doing?"

Pausing for a moment, her gaze flicked over to Paul momentarily before moving back to Reid. "I'm no doctor, but-"

"I'd be greatly concerned for the legitimacy of the medical industry if you were."

"He seems fine," she said through gritted teeth. "Besides - oh, you know. The _amnesia?_ "

Reid scribbled something else down. "Is he sleeping a lot?"

"Most of the time," she confirmed, "but Bob said that's to be expected, with his body still recovering from the explosion."

Reid nodded. Paul had sustained fairly extensive burns on the lower half of his body. "Does he ever seem groggy or confused about where he is?"

"Maybe when he first wakes up."

"Has he shown any signs of remembering anything at all? A slip of the tongue? An unexplained comment containing more information than he should have access to?"

"No," she shook her head, placing her laptop to one side and standing up. "Nothing like that at all." Stepping towards the bed, she folded her arms tightly across her chest, looking down at Paul. "Do you think..." Pausing, she tried again. "This could be permanent, couldn't it? He might never get his memories back."

Reid hoped not, for a huge variety of reasons. "It could be," Reid was forced to tell her, "but then it might not be. Anything could happen - especially in this town. He could wake up tomorrow, remember everything, then announce he's marrying an Oak Tree in Pennsylvania and he wants you to officiate. Don't carve their initials into a tree, though, because you'll probably end up mutilating the mother of the bride. Or," he admitted, "he could just wake up and remember everything. But that wouldn't be anywhere near as entertaining."

Huffing, Emily unfolded her arms and placed her hands on her hips. "You really do insist on being as rude and offensive as possible."

"Pretty much, yeah," he agreed. "So," he continued on, as if they hadn't participated in that little segue, "does he know who you are?"

Sighing, she apparently decided to just answer his question. "He knows my name, because we told him - but other than that, he just thinks I'm a friend. Bob said it wasn't a good idea to tell him everything all at once, that we should give his mind some time to adjust. He doesn't know what he's meant to me," she said sadly, casting a longing look towards Paul's sleeping form, "or the history we've gone through together. Which is probably a good thing," she admitted forlornly.

Speaking of which... "So, you actually shot him in the back, right?"

Immediately straightening up to her full height, she jabbed a finger towards him. "It was a very stressful time in my life," she hissed, "I was going through a great deal, and I don't appreciate people who know nothing about the situation trying to make fun of what I went through."

"I'm just saying," Reid raised his hands in the universal sign of surrender, "if that's your form of love, I have some genuine concerns about you being around Mr Ryan while he's recovering."

"I assure you, you have nothing to worry about," she told him icily. "I am the least of your concerns."

Reid eyed her. "Who should I be worried about?"

"His mother, for one," Emily informed him, her hatred for Barbara obvious. "You'd think he was still a child the amount of attention she pays to his life. If she had it her way, he never would've come out of diapers - and don't think that comes from a kindly, mothering place. Oh no, it's a creepy, manipulative place."

"Tell me something I don't know," Reid muttered.

"And Meg Snyder," she declared darkly, "she was always devious; even more so now that they have Eliza. Getting pregnant was the smartest thing she ever did - they're not even together anymore but she has him wrapped around her little finger, always doing her bidding. With Eliza as the bait." She let out an angry breath. "Then there's the fact that she's doing whatever the hell it is she's doing with Damian Grimaldi - I don't even want to think about it," she finished, making an unpleasant face.

Automatically, Reid zeroed in on that comment. "You mentioned that the other day. You think they actually give a crap about each other?"

"I have no idea what she's thinking," Emily declared, "and frankly I don't want to. But everyone in this town knows that Damian will only ever love Lily."

"Lily?"

"Snyder," Emily told him.

It clicked. "Luke's mom." The hysterical woman outside the elevator at the _Lakeview_. Frankly, Reid didn't see the appeal.

She nodded, smirking. "Apparently once you go Snyder the first time, you can't go back. Not that she's always been a Snyder," Emily admitted, "but she's been one so long it hardly matters."

Reid simply had no way of commenting on that. "And you think Damian's up to no good?" He vividly remembered her comments during the last conversation she'd had about Damian.

"Damian Grimaldi only ever comes to Oakdale when he wants something. Lily. His inheritance. His son. What he's doing here this time, I really don't know - or care. As long as he stays far away from me. And Paul."

Intrigued, Reid put his pen away and closed the folder, picking it up and placing it under his arm. "Well, Miss Stewart, you won't have to worry about him not knowing who you are for much longer."

She brightened. Well, she would have if her face had been capable of producing anything other than a scowl. "I won't?"

Reid nodded. "Tomorrow, Mr Ryan starts his therapy - physical and mental. Tomorrow," he moved his gaze back towards the patient, "we begin re-introducing Paul Ryan to his old life."

*

When Reid walked into Paul Ryan's room the next day, Paul was awake, alert and sitting up in bed.

Excellent. "So, Mr Ryan," Reid began, positioning himself at the foot of the bed, "are you ready to get your old life back?"

Paul shrugged, as if it really wasn't a big deal one way or the other. "Sure. I mean, I guess it has to be better than sitting around here doing nothing, right?"

Pausing, Reid quickly flicked through Paul's chart again, double checking the pain medication he was on. As Reid suspected, there was nothing being given to Paul in a sufficient enough quantity to prompt this kind of...zen-ness. Maybe he was always like this, and even amnesia couldn't diminish his relaxed demeanor. "Okay," Reid dropped the papers, "well, we want to make your brain work, want to try to make it remember, but not bombard it with too much information all at once. That often results in headaches, confusion - and in extreme cases - can even make the brain shut down and cause amnesia patients to pass out."

"That would be bad," Paul concluded.

"That it would," Reid agreed. "Rebuilding a whole life, re-discovering everything in it...it's hard work, Mr Ryan, I'm not going to lie to you because that wouldn't do either of us any good. Going through this kind of thing usually causes more issues than expected, both for you and your loved ones. And it's not going to happen overnight," he warned. "Even if you do suddenly get your memories back, I've yet to see a recovering amnesia patient settle easily back into their old life. Are you ready for the challenge?" Reid held his gaze firmly. "Because you're the one that has to be."

Finally seeming to take the situation seriously, Paul started nodding cautiously, before it became more pronounced as his confidence grew. "Yes. I am."

"Good," Reid replied, pleased. Half the battle of treating any patient was convincing them to fight. Reid knew he was a good - excellent - doctor, but having a patient who wanted to live or wanted to succeed made all the difference in the world to the prognosis. "Today you'll have only one visitor, but you'll be able to talk to them for as long as you want or until I feel you're putting yourself under unecessary stress." Frankly, given Paul's current laid back attitude that didn't seem very likely. "Your purpose here is not to interrogate them," Reid instructed, "even though that may be your first instinct. Most amnesia patients want to know as much about themselves, their lives, as quickly as possible. Try not to assault them with questions. Talk to them, get to know them - and yes, ask questions, but remember this isn't a race. Doing too much, too fast will ultimately slow your recovery." It pained Reid to have to say that, knowing that his own freedom was being curtailed until Paul's memory came back. But it was the right advice to give and doing what was right for the patient was his weak spot. "Also, it will make me think you're an idiot when you've been doing so well at avoiding that. So far, you're one of only about three people in this town who I can stand to be around."

"Even with amnesia?" Paul asked, surprised. "I must be even more amazing with my memories intact."

"That remains to be seen," Reid argued. "Though you'll be hard pressed to be the most fascinating person in the room when I'm around. During this initial visit, I'll stay in the room just to make some observations, assess how you're reacting to the experience. I'll remain out of your way the entire time - unless I feel you're pushing yourself too hard," he reminded. "Ready?"

"I do have one question," Paul replied.

"What's that?"

"Will it make my hair grow back faster?" he asked, making Reid's lips twitch. "No offense to your handiwork, but even though I can't remember what I looked like before, I'm pretty sure I look better with a full head of hair." A hand came up the hair in question, brushing over the bandage still over the surgery area.

"Absolutely," Reid confirmed seriously. "Research has shown that a quick trip down memory lane stimulates follicle growth greatly. You'll be back to your old hair in no time." Sure, now, that Paul was ready, Reid opened the door and waved in the visitor waiting outside. It had physically pained him to contact Barbara Ryan himself, requesting her presence at the hospital. She'd expressed her approval for Reid's first course of action over the phone - not that he gave a crap about her approval either way - and had brought herself to the hospital immediately. She'd been his choice for this first session only due to the fact that Paul had - obviously - known her longer than anyone else, and thus had more memories of her that could be stimulated. "Mrs Ryan."

Ignoring him for once, she smiled warmly as she stepped into the room. "Paul,"

He studied her awkwardly. "Barbara, right?"

"Your mother," she reminded.

"Yeah, I remember that much from the other day," he told her. "I have to admit it's kind of weird picturing you as my mother. I can't remember anything about you. What kind of mother you were, where we grew up. None of those childhood memories I figure I'm supposed to have."

Her smile faltered slightly, before she broadened it intentionally, sitting in the chair next to the bed. "Well, that's why I'm here. So we can get to know each other. Again." Placing her handbag on her lap, she paid it a little too much attention for a few moments before looking back up at him. "I know that you don't know me," she told him, obviously trying to hide how sad she was, "but know that whatever happens, I am your mother. And I will _always_ love you."

Moving to a chair behind them, tucked away in the corner of the room, Reid sat down and couldn't help but muse on what the people in this town did for love. Emily had shot the man she claimed to love. Barbara was blackmailing Reid to help her son. This was only proof of what Reid had always suspected - love only led to reckless, sometimes illegal, behaviour. There were probably some benefits to it, he acknowledged - but he couldn't imagine what they were. Not being tied to anyone romantically - this current situation with Barbara aside - he had the freedom to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, without having to consider anyone else's 'feelings'.

As far as Reid was concerned, love was a huge waste of time, feelings and money, and he was glad he had nothing to do with it.

*

Paul started fading around midday. As soon as he saw the signs, Reid hustled Barbara out of the room - despite her objections - and checked Paul's pain levels. Convinced they were fine for now, he arranged for a nurse (ordered one) to check the dressings on Paul's legs. Leaving the room, he closed the door behind him, turned around and came face-to-face with Barbara.

"How dare you?" she hissed, actually poking a finger at his chest. "Ordering me out of my own son's hospital room as if I was the type of person you could just order out of a hospital room. I have-"

"-been talking for far too long already," Reid replied quickly, angrily. "You may have me currently undertaking your every whim, but one thing you can't change is the fact that I'm the trained physician and you're the imbecile who seems to think she knows better. I know what I'm doing, Mrs Ryan, and I'm doing what's best for your son - which, as far as I recall, is exactly what you asked me to do. Leave me to do my job without interference and you'll get what you want a whole lot faster."

Drawing back, she glared, swivelled on her heel and walked - stomped, really - away from him.

Aware of the tension building in his neck, Reid massaged the right side with his hand. Closing his eyes, he sighed. This town was going to give him an aneurysm before he hit 33.

"Dr Oliver!"

Shoulders slumping - he couldn't be left alone, even for five seconds - Reid lowered his arm and opened his eyes to see a familiar woman smiling at him.

Ah. "The pregnant woman," he greeted.

"Katie," she corrected with a grin, stepping closer. "I heard you were staying in Oakdale - is that right?"

"Unfortunately," he agreed. "It seems that no matter what I do, I just can't get away." Fate had conspired to constantly kick him in the balls.

"It's not so bad here," she assured him, "in fact, it's pretty wonderful."

Reid snorted. "You would say that."

"Why's that?"

"You're one of them," he gestured towards her. "You've all had your brains sucked out through your noses, replaced by computers programmed to think that Oakdale is the happiest place on Earth. Disney got the brainwashing all wrong. So, what are you doing here?"

Surprised at the sudden change in conversation, she stumbled over her words for a moment. "Oh. Well-I. Brad guilted me into getting another scan," she finally confessed. "Just to be on the safe side. I just came in on my way past to make an appointment."

Reid frowned. "Didn't you have one when you came in the other day?"

"Oh, yes," she confirmed. "One thing you'll quickly find about the Snyders - when they care about someone, they don't do it half-way. They don't just love. They... _uber love_." She chuckled and shook her head at her own silliness.

That did not sound pleasant. "Sounds suffocating."

"I guess some people could see it that way," she conceded. "I choose to find it comforting. I know that, whatever happens, Brad will be there to look after me - if I want him to. Anyway," she nodded towards the direction she'd been walking in, "I was just about to get some lunch. Would you like to join me?"

Actually finding himself considering the offer, Reid weighed the pros and cons. She talked a lot. She might want to talk more about love. However, it was lunchtime. And there would be food.

"Let's go," he announced, but had walked all of five steps when Luke was there, bumping into him.

"Sorry!" Luke apologised, bracing his hands against Reid's upper arms to steady himself. "I wasn't looking where-oh." Realising it was Reid he was currently groping, Luke grinned widely. "Hi."

Instead of yelling at Luke to watch where he was going and asking exactly when it was that he last got his eyesight checked, Reid was very much enjoying being groped and smiled back. "Hey."

After a few, long, enjoyable moments, Katie ruined the moment. "Luke, hi! So good to see you! How's _Noah?_ "

Yanking away from Reid, cheeks flushing, Luke actually stumbled. Steading himself, he cleared his throat and tried to act as if that hadn't just happened. "Fine. Noah's fine. I guess. I don't really know to be honest," he confessed, shooting brief looks towards Reid every few seconds. "He's busy all the time, lately. So," he continued, nodding towards both of them, "you two know each other."

"Saved her life," Reid deadpanned, "she was a gonner without me."

"Reid," she rebuked, smacking the back of her hand against his chest.

"Hey, _assault_ ," he complained.

"Reid helped me out the other day," Katie explained, ignoring him. "I had a bit of scare-"

"Are you okay?" Luke asked, immediately concerned. "Is the baby-?"

"We're both fine," she promised. "But that's how we met."

Calming, Luke nodded thoughtfully. "I'm surprised I didn't hear anything about it," he said, "but then I haven't seen Mom or Dad for the past couple of days." From the way he said it, it sounded like an unusual occurrence - and it probably was. In a town as small as Oakdale, Reid could imagine that families still lived deep in each other's pockets, even after they'd moved out. Reid shuddered internally at the thought. Yet another reason for him to get out of town ASAP. "Oh!" Luke suddenly exclaimed, pointing a finger vaguely in Reid's direction. "Was Katie the pregnant lady who-"

"Collapsed in front of me the other day? Oh, yes."

Luke nodded again.

"I'm more interested in the fact that you two know each other," Katie eyed them speculatively.

Reid wasn't touching that one, but he had to admit to being interested in what Luke was going to say.

"Oh, well," Luke explained too casually, "Reid and I just keep running into each other. Literally, in this case," he grinned, "and usually when he's eating."

"And when Luke's being a ninja," Reid retorted. Luke smiled up at him from underneath his eyelashes. Something inside Reid's stomach twisted.

Katie cleared her throat pointedly. "So what are you doing here, Luke?"

Tearing his gaze away from Reid with what was apparently a great effort - Reid could understand that, he was quite a specimen to behold - Luke smiled at Katie. "Just an appointment with my nephrologist."

Reid suddenly lost that strange, warm sensation he'd been feeling inside.

"Nothing serious?" Katie asked.

"Nah, we're just talking about changing some meds. Some of those side effects are killer," he explained, glancing back over to Reid.

Reid stared at him.

"Well, Reid and I were just about to get lunch," Katie explained, "it's a shame you can't join us."

Nodding, still looking at Reid, Luke shrugged. "Next time."

After a brief silence Katie was suddenly grabbing Reid's arm, steering him out of the corridor.

"Hey!"

"We'll see you later, Luke!" she yelled.

Once they were around the corner, she finally loosened her hold. Yanking out of her grasp, Reid turned to face her. She already had her arms folded across her chest and seemed to be glaring at him. Although people disliked him in general, Reid couldn't imagine what he'd done this time.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

" _Me?_ " he asked in disbelief. "You're the one groping people you barely know and dragging them-"

"With Luke," she interrupted.

Crap. "I barely even know Luke Snyder-"

"Bull," she told him, still glaring. "That young man has been through more than I can ever tell you."

"Actually, I heard most of it already," he told her blithely.

" _Reid_ ," she tried again. "He has a boyfriend. They've been through so much together already-"

"Oh, and don't I know it?" Reid found himself arguing back. "Most of it Noah's fault. Look," he continued, "I did not come to Oakdale with the intention of breaking anyone up and it probably still won't happen. Luke is young, still figuring things out. And in any case, it's not my fault that Luke is so...so..." Yeah, he still didn't know how to describe Luke.

Staring at him, Katie looked greatly confused. "You're not just attracted to him, are you?" Confusion morphing into a huge smile - Christ, the people in this town lived on emotional yo-yos - Katie just grinned at him stupidly. "Oh my God, Dr Oliver," she stated, amazed, "you have a thing for Luke."

*

Try as he might, it quickly became abundantly clear that there was no way Reid was getting rid of Katie Peretti-Snyder.

And the really annoying thing was that she didn't even say anything. During the entire trip to _Al's_ , she just kept looking at him. And smiling. Like he was the most adorable thing since Cutie the cute kitten was outfitted with cute little fluffy socks by its cutesy owner.

Reid hated cats.

It wasn't until they were sitting at a booth in the diner doing a bad impression of actually reading the menu, that Reid finally, finally cracked. He slapped his menu down on the table. "I do not have a thing for Luke Snyder."

A perfectly plucked eyebrow was the first thing to emerge from behind her menu, joined soon after by the rest of her face. She said nothing. Her smile said everything.

"I will admit," Reid continued, "that he has helped me out a few times since I arrived in Oakdale and, subsequently, he is one of the few people I can stand to spend any time with. But given the low standard that the rest of the town sets, that really isn't saying much." Katie still just kept smiling at him. "Will you stop doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"That thing with your face. It's disconcerting."

"You mean my smile?" Katie questioned. "Because I'm greatly entertained by your reaction? Have you ever heard the phrase, 'the gentlemen doth protest too much'?"

Of course he had. Unlike most of the people in this town, he actually had a decent education. Or any education at all. "No," he lied, "but I have heard the phrase 'curiousity killed the cat'." He really hated cats.

Katie didn't seem bothered at all, shrugging. "At least my phrase makes you a gentleman."

Like he gave a crap about that. "It also makes it seem like I have... _feelings_ for Luke, which is ridiculous. Utterly. Completely. Ridiculously-why aren't you stopping me?" he pleaded, well-aware that the longer he talked, the bigger a hole he was digging.

"Oh, I was just waiting to see how long you'd go on for," she informed him, propping her head up with her hand. "Sooooooo...tell me everything."

They'd spent a total of twenty minutes in each other's presence, spread over two days. Reid wasn't doing this at all, and he certainly wasn't doing it with someone he'd known for only twenty minutes. "We came to eat," he announced firmly. "That's all we're going to do. I was promised food." Reid made a point of studying his menu, deliberately placing it between them. He heard a sigh but - thankfully - she said nothing else until Henry arrived to take their order.

"Katie!" he said with enthusiasm. "I didn't know you were coming in-oh," his voice dropped dramatically, enthusiasm fleeing as he recognised who she'd come to lunch with. "You."

Reid waved at him. "Hi, Hank."

Gritting his teeth, Henry turned his head back towards Katie. "Brad not with you today?" he asked hopefully.

She shook her head. "He wanted to research something after today's show that we're hoping to run with next week. I had a few things to do in town."

Reid was honestly quite surprised. When he'd realised they worked on local television, he'd actually been able to picture Brad as a local TV presenter quite easily. Anything else but that? Just didn't make sense. "Brad can do research?"

"Shush," Katie warned.

"Well," Henry said quietly. "Isn't that a shame." Sighing, he tried to force some cheer onto his face. "Bubbles, what can I get you?"

"I will haaaaaaaave..." Clucking her tongue against the roof of her mouth, she mulled over her options one last time. Finally deciding, she put the menu down and looked at Henry. "The garden salad. With fries."

Reid looked at her askance. "You realise one of those cancels the other one out?"

"I'm pregnant," she retorted, and - yeah. That was pretty much gonna win every argument, every time.

"And you?" Henry heaved a great sigh, turning somewhat towards Reid and focusing on a point somewhere to the left of Reid's shoulder.

"Cheeseburger and fries," Reid replied, "and make it snappy. Some of us have to work for a living."

Literally growling as he snatched the menus from their tables, Henry turned and flounced away.

Katie shook her head at Reid. "You'd think you'd know better than to taunt the people who make your food."

Yeah, that was actually a fair point. "If Hank spits in my burger, I'll sue him for everything he has." He glanced around the diner. "Which probably isn't much."

"So, really," she continued, obviously not really caring about his food, "Luke Snyder?"

The way his life had been going lately, he should've known that he hadn't dodged that bullet. He tried to turn it to his advantage, instead. "I do not understand you."

"What don't you understand?"

"You were about to stomp on one of my testicles for taking advantage of poor, innocent Luke, but the moment you realised..." Yeah. Really not. "...thought that it was something more serious, suddenly you want to paint each other's toe nails, braid each other's hair and share all the juicy details." She stared at him until Reid realised what he'd actually said. "If there were any juicy details to share. Which there aren't." Because that sounded oh so convincing. One of the things that bugged him most about this... _thing_ with Luke was how it made him babble like an idiot, even when Luke wasn't around.

Babbling was not something that Reid Oliver did.

...for a long time.

"Well, it's not like I want Luke and Noah to break up," she told him, "and they had such a hard time getting together in the first place, it seems like they're meant to stay together, you know?"

Reid had many things he could say about people who were allegedly 'meant to be'. Mostly, though, he wanted to know more details. "Hard time? Because of Noah's dad?"

"You know about that?" she asked, surprised and obviously pleased that he knew so much detail about Luke's life already.

"Don't read anything into it," he warned. "There is nothing romantic about someone telling you that their boyfriend's father tried to kill them."

Katie shrugged. "Depends on the setting. Anyway," she continued, "when Noah came to town, he was still pretty deep in the closet." She made a sad face. "Nobody really knew until later, but it seems he was pretty far gone for Luke after the first month. Of course, still in denial, he started dating Maddie Coleman - Henry's sister. Poor Luke liked Noah right from the beginning, so he had to watch the guy he was crazy about in a relationship with someone else - a female someone else - while he was still giving Luke all kinds of confusing signals."

Reid wished he could've just thought Noah was a moron for the way he'd treated Luke initially. But although Reid had never hidden who he was, and was frequently judgemental about any subject that passed his way, that was the one thing he tried not to judge. Although he did have his limits.

As it had turned out, Noah was still an ass even after he came out so his issues obviously ran much deeper.

"I don't know," she sighed, "it just seems like...after Noah facing the truth about himself, facing his father - who really was a psychopath."

"Yeah, I got that much."

"And finally getting together with Luke...it just feels right, you know? They faced so much together."

Reid knew, better than most, that traumatic incidents frequently brought people together. The heightened emotions brought on by the situation could easily be mistaken for love. He'd seen it happen all the time. "Soul mates, huh?"

She studied him. "Anyway, the point I was trying to make with all this, is that...yes, I think Luke and Noah are cute together. But I want you to be happy, too," she grinned. "I just like a happy ending for everyone."

"I get to do something I love, all day, every day," Reid told her. "Believe me, I already have my happy ending."

Katie shook her head. "A job is not a happy ending."

"Depends on the job," he mimicked. "Now, I swear to you that nothing is going on between me and Luke Snyder. Nothing is going to go on between me and Luke Snyder. Can we _please_ talk about something else?"

After a few moments of contemplation, she apparently decided to let it go - although Reid was definitely left with the feeling that she was only letting it go for a while. As far as Reid was concerned, that was good enough for now.

"Fair enough," she decreed, "so, have you started looking for your own place?"

Reid couldn't see the point in that, especially if he - hopefully - really was only staying for a short time. "I figured I could just keep staying at the _Lakeview_." It wasn't like he couldn't afford it, and it was pretty convenient having prepared food literally brought to his door anytime, night or day.

"I guess there's no reason you can't," she admitted. "There are a few people in town who do that already. It just seems so...impersonal. It's not a home, you know?" A few moments later, she was sitting up straight in the booth. "I have a great idea! We have a spare room-"

Oh, hell no. "I am so not moving in with you."

"Why not?" she argued. "It's tastefully decorated-"

"I could care less about how it's decorated," Reid interrupted. "You live there," he stated, as if that was reason enough not to move in. "And I can't see your husband being thrilled at the idea."

"Brad won't mind," she insisted. "One, you were already the knight in shining armour to his beloved wife." She struck a pose, fluttering her eyelashes. "Two, you're gay, so he won't have to worry about you trying anything-"

"Well if that isn't an excellent reason to move in with someone, I don't know what is."

"-and he'll probably be grateful to have a doctor around 24/7 while I'm pregnant. I know I would," she fixed him with what he could only call 'bambi' eyes - and he'd never even seen that movie. "It'll be a lot cheaper than staying at the _Lakeview_ , and you'll be welcomed home every night by people who actually care about you - but you'll still be free to do your own thing."

Reid really wasn't thinking about how appealling that idea was. "You're having a baby-"

"In six months," she argued, "which means you can move in now, and still have plenty of time to find a place of your very own. If you really want."

He was not considering this.

"Even if it only ends up being for a few days," Katie told him, "this way, Brad and I will finally feel like we're really paying you back for the way you helped me the other day." Her eyes watered. Her lips actually quivered.

He was definitely not considering this.

*

Two doggy bags later, Katie was striding happily across the WOAK building. Reid glanced around as she stepped into an office where he could see Brad sitting inside at a computer desk. Strolling around the area, Reid passed the time by inspecting everything. The 'set', the cameras, various offices. A few members of staff milled around from time to time, but frankly, it looked about as dead as he expected a local television station would look.

"Dr Oliver," a woman's voice greeted, and he looked up to see Kim Hughes walking towards him, smiling hesitantly.

He remembered now. "You work with Katie."

"That's right," she confirmed. "Are you here with Katie?"

Reid nodded towards the office. "She's talking to Brad."

They stood there together, in silence. After about ten seconds, Reid realised she was waiting for something. When he realised what it was, he almost rolled his eyes. While it was obvious she would never be so uncouth as to outright ask for it, she was expecting some kind of response for convincing Bob to take him on.

"Um," he began, clearly a promising start. He hated this being polite crap. "Bob told me. You know, about how you convinced him to...help me. So. You know...thanks."

"Oh, you're more than welcome, Dr Oliver," she told him warmly. "I'm pretty good at reading people, so it's been easy to see that interacting with people is not your...forte, shall we say?" She smiled cheekily, in a way that was - God help him - almost endearing. "But you're an excellent doctor with an excellent reputation, and it would be foolish of us to not make the most of this opportunity. It didn't take much effort at all to convince Bob of that. And who knows?" Kim asked. "Maybe after you've been here a while, Oakdale will smooth off some of those rough edges." Her eyes crinkled as her smile widened. "Entertaining as they are." A voice yelled from behind her, calling her name. "Oh, do excuse me, Doctor."

"Please, go," Reid insisted. " _Really._ " Disturbed by that encounter on a fundamental level - Kim Hughes liked him and he actually kind of liked her and, when said in her voice, the idea of smoothing rough edges didn't sound like such a bad idea - Reid shuddered and hurried over to the office. Lingering in the doorway, he blatantly listened in to Katie and Brad's conversation.

"-know he helped you, Katie and really, I get what a big thing it was he did. But what if he tries something?"

Reid rolled his eyes.

"Brad, he's gay!

"You're not the one I'm worried about."

Then he rolled them even harder.

"Brad Snyder, I cannot believe you just said something that ridiculous. Do you think the same about Luke and Noah?"

"Gross, Katie, Luke's my cousin."

Like that would actually stop anyone in this town.

"That's not the point, Brad," she sighed. "Look. Trust me when I tell you that if Reid is interested in anyone in this town, it's certainly not you." Oh, he did not like the sound of _that._ He knew that conversation wasn't finished. "Just think, Brad," she said quietly, moving closer and fussing with the collar of his shirt. "A doctor in the house at all times. And it may only be for as long as it takes him to find his own place. And he's obviously independent, it's not like he'll be wanting you to spend time with him."

That, at least, was the truth.

Brad made a face. "You're not going to let this go until I say yes, are you?"

She wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him. "I really wouldn't be doing this if I thought he was dangerous," she told him quietly. "I just think...after what happened...before. Having a doctor right _there_ -"

"Hey, hey," Brad shushed, pulling her even closer and wrapping his arms around her. "There was nothing anyone could've done. You know that."

Sniffing, she pressed her face into his chest. Her words were muffled momentarily, but Reid could just make them out. "I'd just...feel better if he was there. And, you know, I do think it'd be good for him, too. With a place to call home - rather than a hotel room - he might start to feel like he actually belongs here." Heaving an emotional sigh, she clutched Brad harder.

Turning his head to one side, Brad finally realised Reid was standing there watching. They looked at each other. Brad nodded, once.

And that was how Reid suddenly found himself living with Brad and Katie.

*

Reid had to give Katie credit. For all that she initially appeared to have a friendly, bubbly personality, it had readily become apparent that she was equally capable of being selfish and manipulative. Though he had no doubt that the offer to live with her and Brad was _somewhat_ coming from a generous place, he also had no doubt that the offer was mostly due to the fact that she wanted a doctor living with them.

Reid couldn't even blame her - she was protecting her child, and it was likely she'd go even further if it came down to it. Reid simply had to think of Barbara's actions to be aware of that. Reid had never been a parent and likely never would - why would he choose to be up to his elbows in diapers when he could be up to his elbows in brains, instead? It was an actual no-brainer.

But he'd seen and heard enough from parents of patients to understand that the parent-child bond was usually strong and sometimes even uncontrollable - with definite exceptions, himself included. Even though Barbara and Katie had both manipulated him in their own way, there was something about someone doing whatever it took to achieve a goal that he'd always found himself respecting - even if it was only a little.

It was probably due to the way he'd lived his own life since leaving his parents' home. He'd escaped as soon as it was possible, intent on becoming the best neurosurgeon on the face of the planet. As it'd turned out he'd had an almost uncanny natural aptitude for almost every aspect of neurology - whether it was surgery itself, diagnosis or choosing the best course of treatment. It was the sole reason he'd come so far at so young. Reid was well aware of his own achievements. A surgeon of his age running his own specialist medical centre - and being a financially successful medical centre at that - was virtually unheard of. And although he'd been approached several times by well-respected publications, Reid had turned every interview request down cold. He wanted success; not celebrity.

If he hadn't had that natural ability? Reid preferred to think he wouldn't have potentially put patients' lives at risk, but he honestly couldn't say that he wouldn't have done anything necessary to get what he wanted. He was fortunate that he was so damn good it was a non-issue, and therefore something he didn't need to give much thought to.

He was thinking all this in an attempt to rationalise the fact that he'd just spent his first night in the spare room in Katie and Brad's apartment. The evening of the same day she'd made the invite, he'd found himself moving his belongings - all one bag and a laptop of it - into the apartment. The room was large enough, the bed comfortable enough, the apartment warm enough.

But this wasn't going to last.

Reid was smart enough to know why he'd caved so easily - Katie was pregnant. In his own peculiar type of morals, you did anything a pregnant woman asked you to, whether you liked it or not. By saying yes, he assuaged her ego by accepting the invitation in the first place, made her feel better by having a doctor around for a few days - and didn't have to ride an elevator up and down a seven story building, every single day.

To be honest, it was the lack of elevator that was the clincher.

The evening of his first night in the apartment, Reid stayed sequestered in his own room - partly so they wouldn't get the wrong idea and try to 'bond' with him or anything, but also because he had things to do.

Opening up the local paper, he'd immediately started reading the listings.

The next morning while Reid was devouring his second bagel, Brad stumbled into the kitchen. Barely awake - clearly not a morning person - Brad rubbed at his eyes and fumbled around for coffee.

While wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts.

Reid was not a stupid man. On his way out to work that morning, he dumped the paper in the trash.

Paul's loved ones continued to visit, the visits growing longer and longer each day as his condition improved - except for one person in particular. Emily had been particularly thrilled at the fact that, since his amnesia, Paul apparently had no interest in Meg whatsoever. In fact, Paul had decided to talk to Reid of all people about the issue.

"I just don't see what I apparently saw in her back then," Paul explained, while Reid was trying to check his pulse. "And it's not like we were just dating - we got _married_. We had a child together."

"Well it's not like you need to be in love to conceive a kid," Reid pointed out, "or get married. Especially in this town. Will you stop moving your arm around?"

"Oh," Paul said, as if he'd only just realised that Reid was trying to do something. He immediately stilled his arm. "Sorry. Probably makes your job a lot easier."

"Go figure," Reid snarked. "How are your legs?"

"No longer my best feature," he quipped. "The pain gets worse, then it gets better, then it gets a lot worse and on and on."

Reid nodded. "Burns are a pain in the...well-"

"Leg," Paul finished. "To be honest, as long as I can walk I don't really care." He paused, obviously thinking something over. "I wonder if I was vain before."

"I honestly couldn't care less," Reid replied, "and it hardly matters now. How's your PT going?"

"Painfully," Paul admitted. "Have you met my therapist? He's intimidating, and I say this as a man secure in his masculinity."

"I haven't had the pleasure," Reid sighed, annoyed at the small talk that kept creeping in. "Any memory flashes, jumbled thoughts in your head?" He remembered something Luke had told him. "Psychic visions?"

For the first time, Paul seemed genuinely surprised by something. "Have I had _what_ now?"

Rather than confuse the amnesia patient further for his own amusement - even Reid had his limits - Reid shook his head. "Never mind."

Paul frowned at him. "Have you ever been in love?"

And that one came _way_ out of the left field. "Look, if you're that desperate for someone to talk to, I could go and call one of your harem-"

"But I know you'll tell me the truth," Paul explained. "All of them. Those...people," he gestured towards the door, "they all remember me as I was. They all have agendas of their own, things they do or don't want me to remember for whatever reason." He was remarkably perceptive for a man with no memories. "We'd never met until I woke up after the accident. You only know me as I am, now, and all you want is for me to get my memories back - without reservation. Yours is the one opinion I can really count on."

Reid really hated it when patients made a good argument. "No," he huffed out, finally answering Paul's question.

Paul nodded slowly. "I have no answer to that question," he confessed. "I don't _know_. Do you know what a strange feeling that is? I know what love is - or at least think I do - and I know that it's supposed to be this amazing, maybe life-changing thing. But have I experienced it? I've been married, but given what I think of Meg now, I don't know. If I haven't, is that a regret I have or do I just think - shit happens. What will be will be? I don't even love the woman claiming to be my mother," he admitted, "even though she apparently raised me. I barely know her." After a moment of silence, he continued quietly. "I don't even know if I'll feel it when I meet Eliza."

Now they were reaching the crux of the matter.

They'd held off on bringing the kid in for a meet and greet until Paul was stronger, physically and mentally. Reid currently had it pencilled in for the beginning of the next week, but now he was thinking they should bring it forward. "Considering how worried you are about it at the moment," Reid said honestly, "and from everything I've heard about what parenthood is meant to be like...at the very least you're going to look at her and think - I made that. I made this amazing, thinking, breathing, creature. I'm responsible for that." Reid shrugged. "And maybe that will be enough."

The conversation with Paul left Reid surprisingly contemplative for the rest of the day, which annoyed him. Brooding over love or the lack thereof, its effects, its consequences. He was coming to realise that all the crazy things in this town were usually motivated by love in one form or another.

And he just kept thinking about it.

Frustrated, he decided to treat himself to dinner that evening at _Al's_. Sitting as far away from anyone else as possible - not easy during the dinnertime rush - Reid barely even threw an insult Henry's way; just ordered his food and started eating it quietly.

To add to his joy, Luke walked in just as Reid bit into his BLT.

With Noah.

At least Luke hadn't seen him - in his current mood, he really didn't want to converse with Luke Snyder - and somewhat ridiculously, Reid found himself hunkering down in his seat.

They sat at a table well within Reid's general proximity, but Luke still hadn't spotted him and sat with his back towards him. Ridiculously grateful for the reprieve, Reid sat back up and tried to act like he hadn't been worried at all.

He tried to focus on his meal, he really did. But within ten minutes their voices started rising.

Seriously, the people in this town and their public domestics.

Luke had obviously been trying to do everything he could to make sure Noah was happy since they'd come in - although he'd plainly been trying too hard. Smiling a little too much, being a little too attentive. Reid couldn't even really blame Noah - much - when he told Luke to tone it down. Eventually, they seemed to reach a happy medium, and ordered their food.

That was when Noah opened up the bundle of paper he'd brought with him. And not long after that was when everyone else started paying attention to them.

It started when Luke cautiously asked if Noah could read over that later.

"We've made changes to the script, Luke. I have to know perfectly what these scenes are going to look like."

"I know it's important to you," Luke acknowledged, "but...we're finally alone together, Noah." Stretching an arm across the table, he placed a hand on top of Noah's. "I was hoping we'd spend some time just on...us," he said, an impish twang in his voice. Clearly to Luke, 'us' meant sex.

That was a mental image Reid really didn't need.

"It's not like it's just my fault we barely see each other," Noah defended, shifting in his chair. "You're working, too."

"I am," Luke conceded, nodding, "but you have to admit, you're working much longer hours than I am at the moment. If you're not filming, you're editing. If you're not editing, you're doing something with..." he paused, over what was clearly a sore subject. "Mason."

That just seemed to make Noah angrier, who pulled his hand out from under Luke's. "Is this about Mason? I already told you-"

"I know you did, Noah. And I trust you," he added, "but I still don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that Mason finds you attractive. After all," he joked, "you are pretty cute."

Noah wasn't having any of it. "I don't believe this. You probably talked to Casey, too."

Luke shook his head, clearly having no clue. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't act like you don't know," Noah told him. "He came to see me the other day, started asking questions about Mason. He tried to hide what he was doing, but subtlety has never been Casey's strong suit. He thought something was going on between me and Mason," he shook his head angrily. "I can't believe you'd talk to one of our friends about this."

Aww, crap. Hughes Junior Junior needed a lesson in being sneaky - a somewhat surprising revelation.

"Noah, he's your friend, too. I swear to you, I have no idea where Casey would get the idea-"

"Don't lie to me, Luke."

Finally, fucking _finally_ , Luke's back straightened. When he spoke, each word was enunciated clearly. "I. Am. Not. Lying. And I can't believe that you'd think even for one second that I'd lie to you deliberately. God, just because I have some concerns about Mason-"

"There you go again," Noah interrupted angrily.

"And apparently I'm not the only one," Luke pressed on, just as angrily. "I understand that the work is important to you, but God, Noah - why can't you just trust me on this? It's like Brian all over again."

Noah made an ugly face. "This is nothing like Brian."

"Why?" Luke pressed. "Because you're the one being hit on this time? And, for the record," he pointed out, "I was right about Brian all along."

"Well, you're wrong about Mason," Noah insisted.

"Why?" Luke demanded. "Just because you want me to be? Seriously, Noah, after everything we've been through together, why can't you just trust me?"

"Because of everything we _have_ been through together," Noah replied heatedly.

Luke sat back further in his chair. Reid could imagine a frown on his face. "What does _that_ mean?"

Rubbing a hand over his face, Noah shrugged awkwardly and glanced from side to side as if he was finally beginning to realise they weren't alone. They'd probably been so entrenched in the argument that they'd forgotten they even had an audience. "Look, Luke, let's just talk about this later-"

"You have an answer," Luke announced perceptively. "Tell me." Noah squirmed in his chair, finally looking like he felt bad about something he was going to say. Luke wouldn't let it go. "Tell me, Noah."

Sighing heavily, Noah eventually mumbled a response so quietly, Reid couldn't hear it.

From the way Luke's body suddenly stilled and stayed that way, Luke could. "Say that again," he said quietly, his voice emotionless. "Say that again, Noah."

"I said," Noah repeated louder, still fidgeting in his chair, "that I can never trust your opinion because I'm never sure if you've been drinking or not."

A hush fell over the diner. It'd been pretty quiet anyway, the rest of the diners blatantly listening by this point, but after that comment Reid literally could've heard a pin drop.

That explained the kidney transplant.

Reid hadn't known him for very long, but it was obvious that Luke wore his emotions for everyone to see. As he turned his head to one side and Reid could see the embarrassed flush on his face, he could imagine the mixture of emotions Luke was experiencing. Shock that Noah could be so cruel. Horror at realising they had an audience. Embarrassment at being spoken to that way by the man who was supposed to be his boyfriend. Anger at himself for putting himself in the situation where he could be spoken to like that in the first place. Frustration at not having the conversation somewhere private.

"I didn't want to say it," Noah explained cagily, "but you made me, Luke. You wouldn't let up! You forced me to-"

Luke pushed backwards, the legs of his chair screeching loudly on the diner floor.

Noah stopped talking.

Reid wouldn't have been surprised at all if Luke just walked silently out of the diner. Hell, he wouldn't have been surprised if Luke threw his drink over the idiot.

It turned out to be a lot more entertaining than that. A million times more entertaining than that.

Slowly standing up, Luke planted a hand on either side of the table, leaning over it towards Noah. "I cannot _believe_ ," Luke said passionately, "that I had to make an _appointment_ to see my own _boyfriend_. And then when you do actually manage to squeeze me into your schedule, you bring a script so you don't actually have to interact with me. But then I'm a drunk, right?" he asked. "I'm clearly not worth the effort." Standing back up to his full height, he folded his arms across his chest. "You know what?" he asked rhetorically, slowly shaking his head in anger, disbelief - any number of things. "Screw you, Noah. Screw you. After all," Luke snorted derisively, "it's not like you're screwing me."

*

That had been, without a doubt, the hottest thing Reid Oliver had ever seen Luke Snyder do.

But Reid acknowledged internally that his own level of horniness was not the main issue at hand. That was Luke, who - after that final pronouncement about the apparent lack of a sex life between him and Noah - was now striding across the diner, towards the exit, with his head held high and a remarkable amount of dignity (to Reid's mind, that the biggest indicator of all of Noah's stupidity. Who would be in a relationship with Luke and _not_ screw his brains out at _every_ opportunity? As passionate as Luke was about, well, everything, he had to be a dynamo in the sack).

Reid considered not interfering for 0.5 seconds but Noah was still sitting there, dumbstruck, while Luke was yanking open the first of the doors that led out of the diner.

Not entirely clear on his next course of action - just knowing that it seemed wrong for Luke to walk off alone after that - Reid found himself pushing his own chair back and getting to his feet.

He'd made it all of two steps when Henry was there, blocking his path.

Reid was not in the mood to be toyed with. "Out of the way, Hank," Reid ordered; eyes on Luke, voice like gravel.

"Easy, macho man," Henry assured, "for once I'm actually following your lead. You go after Luke and _I'll_ have a few words with Mr Mayer."

"Didn't think you were capable of producing just a few words," Reid replied automatically, uncaring of Henry's reasoning; eyes still tracking Luke who was walking past the window at the front of the diner.

"I may prefer a more...verbose form of conversation," Henry agreed, "but even I have found, from time to time, that less is more."

By now Luke had completely disappeared from view. Reid nudged forward against Henry. "I gotta..."

"Go," Henry ordered, making shooing motions, "go. Prove that - despite all the evidence to the contrary - you're an actual human being." Reid was already across the diner, tugging open the door as Henry called out, "There may be hope for you yet!"

Jogging in the direction he'd seen Luke go, Reid's fear - mild, more like vague concern, really - that he wouldn't be able to catch up to him almost immediately proved unwarranted. Luke was pacing back and forth near a bench, gesticulating wildly and muttering to himself. Quickly slowing to a walk, then a stop, Reid just watched him and waited. To be honest, he still didn't know what he was going to do.

But maybe he didn't need to do anything.

When Luke noticed him he didn't seem the least bit surprised; he just seemed angry. But then it appeared that, at the moment, anger was Luke's default setting.

"Were you there?" Luke demanded, then didn't wait for an answer. "Of course you were! Heaven forbid my shame shouldn't be complete." Reid opened his mouth to point out that he really didn't give a crap about anything Noah Mayer had to say, but Luke just kept talking. "I've never been this angry before," he said, still pacing, "in my entire life. Is this what it's like being you?" he asked quickly, then moved on just as quickly, answering his own question. "No, you just pretend to be angry. It's like...gah!" he exclaimed, throwing his right hand up, then flopping it back down. "I don't think I was even this angry..." He stopped moving suddenly. "No, okay, the guy who was blackmailing Mom into sleeping with him to get me the kidney, I was definitely this angry then. But!" he exclaimed suddenly, walking again and pointing upwards, "I've definitely never been this angry towards someone I care about - and who's supposed to care about me. Not when I realised Damian only wanted me for my money. Not even when I thought Mom couldn't love me for who I am." Clenching his hands into fists, he shook his head again. "He thinks he knows," he continued passionately, "he thinks he knows what I went through because he was there when I started drinking again, but he doesn't have any idea, no clue what it's like. It's still there, every day," Luke announced, coming to a stop and finally facing Reid, "you think about it every single day. Do you know what it's like living with that?" He asked the question accusingly, as if waiting to see if whatever answer Reid produced was going to please him.

Reid just went with the truth. "I'd think you'd have to be one of the strongest people I've ever met."

Reid had seen addictions, seen the way they could destroy people. The fact that Luke was currently conquering his was something to be proud of, not something to be used against him.

Blinking, surprised, some of Luke's anger seemed to seep out of him. He was still agitated though, his own gaze falling to his hands, still in fists. "I need to do something," he said quietly, "I need to _do_ something because right now the only thing I can think to do is-" Luke broke off, turning his head to one side in embarrassment at admitting what he obviously saw as a weakness.

Yeah, Noah was such a great guy he was driving his boyfriend to drink.

Luckily, Reid had just the thing.

*

 _Memorial_ had a gym as part of the Physical Therapy department. Reid had seen it, but thus far hadn't had any use for it.

Until now.

The hospital was open twenty-four hours, of course - even in a dump like Oakdale - but it was definitely quieter at night time. He could admit, at least to himself, that it made a nice change of pace to some of the busier places he'd worked in. Reid usually preferred to keep busy, but there was a difference between busy and _insane_.

It didn't take Luke very long to realise which section of the hospital they were headed towards. Of course, he had all the reason in the world to be familiar with it.

"I've _really_ had enough physical therapy for a lifetime," he warned.

"This is physical therapy of a different kind," Reid promised, walking forward and activating the automatic doors - provided for easy access - that led into the section. They passed only a few members of staff and a few turns later, they were walking into the gym. Reid bypassed the rest of the equipment - surprisingly state of the art, most of it - and headed straight for the far corner.

Luke came to a stop in front of it. "Seriously?"

"Trust me," Reid told him, grabbing a pair of gloves from the nearby storage shelf. Advancing towards Luke, he gestured for Luke to hold out a hand. "There are some important things to remember," he said, as he fit the first glove snugly onto Luke's left hand. "Don't keep your thumb inside your fist - but don't have it sticking right out, either. That way lies a broken bone," he warned, satisfied that the first glove was on securely. He moved onto the other hand. "Are you left or right handed?"

"Right," Luke replied quietly, letting Reid work.

Nodding, Reid gave the second glove a quick tug to be sure. Satisfied with that one too, he looked up and grabbed Luke's shoulders, guiding him into position. "Lead with your weak side - in your case the left," he instructed, tugging Luke around. "Sideways," he instructed. "Left foot forward, feet shoulder-width apart."

Luke accommodated. "How do you know all this?" he asked, looking down at his own feet.

Reid studied them too. "I thought we agreed I am all-knowing." Luke snorted. Reid smiled briefly to himself. "My Grandfather used to box semi-professionally," he explained, "knees bent. Back straight." Luke complied. "Back heel off the floor." He stepped back and moved around to the front, studying Luke's stance. Far from perfect, but it'd do the job.

Luke bounced up and down experimentally. "This feels good." He bounced again. "You don't still do this yourself?"

"Not anymore," Reid answered, watching Luke's movements. "I have these to consider," he explained, waggling his fingers. Even boxing gloves didn't fully protect your hands.

"Right," Luke acknowledged. "Um, so can I punch something now? You've kind of got me looking forward to it. Or am I all dressed up with no place to go?"

Things had to be improving if Luke was making jokes. "Have at it," he agreed, stepping off to one side.

Stepping closer, Luke seemed to be studying the punching bag. Eventually, he let rip with his first punch. It was a decent enough effort, but with the muscles evident beneath the snug t-shirts he liked to wear, he was capable of much better. "Make sure the first two knuckles on your hand connect first - square on the knuckles," he warned, "or you'll end up hurting yourself." He started walking in a circle around Luke and the punching bag. Luke tried again. Good. Luke punched again. And again. And again.

"Keep your knees bent," Reid reminded, observing and critiquing as necessary. After a while he didn't have to say anything at all - partly because Luke was good at following instructions, but mostly because Luke was so focused he probably no longer heard anything Reid said.

This was what Reid had been hoping for. Luke was intent, punching over and over again, almost constantly without break. The only thing in his mind were the emotions he was trying to exorcise. Reid remembered the feeling well. It wasn't as good as the rush when operating, but there was a purity in this kind of violence that Reid appreciated. Mindless violence made you look like an idiot. Controlled violence was a great motivator. When you reached that point, nothing else mattered.

Luke's stamina was impressive, but when he started getting sloppy in his stance and in his punches, Reid brought it to an end. Tapping Luke on the shoulder at the moment was a bad idea, so he approached the punching bag from the other side and grabbed it, holding it still.

Stopping mid-punch, Luke's eyes cleared as he stood up straight. Swaying on his feet for a few moments, he stared down at his gloved hands. He was breathing hard from the exertion, hair clinging to his face, t-shirt glued to his back. "That was..." He said nothing else, apparently not having the words for it.

"You need to hydrate," Reid informed him, releasing the bag and stepping around it, reaching for Luke's hands. "Do you feel dizzy? Nauseous?"

Luke shook his head, quietly watching Reid work. Reid left him to whatever he was obviously processing internally.

When the second glove was off, Luke opened and closed his fists experimentally. "You'll probably feel some soreness tomorrow," Reid warned him, with a small smile, "but something tells me you can handle it."

Slowly lifting his head, Luke produced a small smile of his own. Reid moved to step away but was brought up short when one of Luke's hands suddenly shot out, grabbing Reid's wrist.

Reid turned back to him inquisitively, stupidly aware of just how much heat Luke was generating from that small amount of contact alone. "Yeah?"

Luke looked at him kindly. "Thank you," he said, and it was clear he meant it from every pore of his body, the two words suffused with such genuine thanks that it was almost awe-inspiring.

If Reid were the type of person who was easily awed by anything. Which he wasn't.

"No trouble," he shrugged, "it's not like I-"

Luke's hand tightened on his wrist. " _Reid._ " Reid couldn't help but meet Luke's gaze and he saw the blatant request there: _just accept this. Let me thank you._

And damned if he didn't find himself doing just that. "Um. You're welcome."

The faint smile on Luke's face grew bigger. Still not up to its usual standards, but still definitely the best smile he'd produced since the moment he'd stepped into the diner with Noah. Luke's lips were...

Reid was suddenly aware of how close they were standing. Of Luke touching him. The heat rolling off Luke's body. The moisture on the side of Luke's face. How unbearably close Luke lips were.

And Reid didn't even plan it, but they were inching fractionally closer to each other, gazes flicking from mouths to eyes and back again, and Luke might have swallowed and their mouths were millimetres apart-

Luke wrenched away, stumbling backwards, a hand flying up to his mouth.

 _Shit._ "Luke-"

The hand came back down. "I can't," he pleaded, as if wanting Reid to understand. "It's...things with Noah are screwed up, but I have to figure out where we are. For real," Luke continued, face anguished. "We've been together for two years, Reid. I can't just..." He stopped. "I don't know if we'll stay together after this, but..." his shoulders drooped. "I have to know for sure. I owe it to the two years we've been together to make absolutely sure."

It wasn't like Reid didn't understand that. He did. "Okay."

Reid's easy acceptance just seemed to make Luke more miserable. "This is just what I accused him of," he said, "only I don't think he's actually attracted to-" Turning to one side, he brought a hand up to his face. Taking a few fortifying breaths, he visibly tried to calm himself. Eventually, he lowered the hand and turned his head back towards Reid. "My entire life," Luke told Reid, voice wobbling with emotion, "I've watched my parents cheat on each other. I barely remember a single year where they didn't sleep with other people." Jesus, with everything else he'd been through, it was no wonder Luke was an alcoholic. "I can't be that way," he explained, shaking his head. After a moment he licked his lips and nodded once, firmly, as if coming to a decision. "I won't. I'm not sorry for that, but I am sorry if you wanted something more. I'm sorry," he said again, before turning and walking away.

Reid respected Luke enough to make his own decisions - dumb though they could obviously be, such as picking Noah as a boyfriend - but there was something Luke had to hear before he went. "Luke."

He didn't turn around, but he did stop walking.

"Being attracted to someone else when you're in a relationship," Reid told him firmly, "it doesn't automatically make you the bad guy. Or a cheat. You're not them," he said finally, hoping the message was getting through. "You're nothing like your parents."

A few moments later Luke nodded minutely - then walked quickly out of the gym.

Leaving Reid alone with nothing but a pair of boxing gloves.

*

Unsurprisingly, Luke proceeded to vanish off the face of the planet. There were rare occasions where they happened to see each other but they never lasted long, as Luke would inevitably look embarrassed then apologetic and quickly scurry off. But all the places they'd spent time together, even briefly - _Java_ , _Al's_ , the _Lakeview_ , even the hospital - Luke vanished from them entirely.

Reid told himself it didn't matter, that he wasn't disappointed that Luke wasn't constantly buzzing around in his orbit, sticking his nose into Reid's business, or sitting himself at Reid's tables uninvited.

Things were better this way. Life was better this way. Those inconvenient feelings he'd been having whenever Luke was around had done nothing but take his focus off what really mattered - doing whatever it took to get out of Oakdale as fast as possible. Spending the ludicrous amount of time thinking about Luke that he had - that ridiculous night he'd barely slept, those moments of quiet during the day when thoughts of Luke would creep in - only proved how much time was being wasted. Spending so much time concentrating on something other than his job, how could he possibly be performing at full capacity?

Luke had been nothing more than a temporary inconvenience and Reid fully intended to forget about him. Out of sight, out of mind.

Only after the first few days, it became clear that wasn't happening. If anything, he was thinking about Luke _more_.

He'd be filling in paperwork and he'd suddenly find himself wondering what Luke was doing. He'd be working with Paul and bam! Thoughts wondering (hoping...no, just wondering, dammit) if Luke had kicked Noah's ass to the curb yet. And at night, when he had nothing to distract him even slightly, the greatly disturbing thoughts considering the possibility that he might just be willing to attempt the whole relationship thing, if Luke were the other part of the relationship.

It was _extremely_ frustrating.

The only peace of mind Reid found at all was when he was in surgery. Luke hadn't infected that part of him, at least. In surgery he was still focused, absolute, and when the latest neuro-trauma was rolled into the OR - Bob was right, they did have a strangely high number of them - Reid was almost thankful. Something he decided was best kept to himself.

Susie knew something was up. They still kept in frequent contact and, with Reid in consultation with Bob, they'd started arranging for some of Reid's patients from his Dallas facility to come to Oakdale for treatment. Being Susie, she used every opportunity she could to try and get something out of him.

"So that's James Price booked in on the 25th," she confirmed, the sound of her fingers typing rapidly on the keyboard resonating clearly through the phone line, "and I just wanted to double-check when you're going to crack and tell me everything."

In the middle of his own note-making, Reid froze, fingers still clamped around the pen as he sat at the desk in the Head of Neurology office he'd inherited. It came with the job and was only slightly bigger than the water closet he'd been working in before. "That would be never," he managed to reply calmly, "because there's nothing to tell you everything about." Irritatingly, an image of Luke came to mind.

"You know you've never been able to hide anything from me," Susie gloated, "you'll tell me eventually."

"Keep enjoying those delusions you're having," Reid advised, "because you won't enjoy it when I diagnose the brain tumour you're undoubtedly suffering from."

"I must have a brain tumour if I'm actually worried about you," she told him. " _Something_ is going on. You're moping."

How could she possible tell that over the telephone?

Not that he was moping. "I have never once moped."

"Ha! Tell me you haven't been sitting on the sofa hugging a cushion."

The irritating thing was, he really hadn't been able to hide anything from her. They'd known each other for what felt like so long that she'd long been able to assess his exact mood from the moment he first strode into work in the morning, and immediately know if he needed to get something out of his system before he got to work. His mouth stayed stubbornly shut.

"I knew it!" she crowed annoyingly.

God, she really didn't deserve the awesome job he'd given her. "It's an extremely comfortable sofa," he said defensively, which it really was, "you're always telling me to relax more. In fact, I believe your exact words are 'Reid, take a break before you pop a blood vessel. I'm not clearing up all that blood'."

Susie wasn't having it. "And the purpose of the cushion is...?"

He said nothing.

"Look," she said eventually, "I've told you before, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. Even you, Creepy Reid Oliver-"

"Creepy?"

"-from time to time, even you want a hug."

Reid hadn't had a hug from an adult since he was ten years old. "I literally have no idea what to say to that sentence."

"Try 'Yes Susie, you're absolutely right and deserve a bonus'," she suggested. "In fact, you should say that in every conversation we have from now on."

"This fantasy island you're living on," Reid began, "is the weather nice? I've been thinking about working on my tan."

"Like you'd purposefully expose your body to that many UV rays," she pointed out. "And don't think you can distract me from the task at hand. You're hiding something. And I will find out what it is."

"There's the professional PA I hired who doesn't get involved in her boss' personal life."

Reid didn't even catch the slip-up he'd made. Susie most definitely did.

"Personal life?" Her voice perked up. "You have a personal life, now?" Oh, hell. "You've met someone," she continued eagerly, "tell me you've finally met someone! Oh my God, does he love you despite your many, many, _many_ faults?"

"I'll tell you no such thing," he answered, attempting damage control even though he feared it was pointless. There was frequently nothing that could tame Hurricane Susie. In fact, Reid decided then and there that retreat was the better part of valour, and promptly hung up.

Thirty seconds later he received a message on his cell phone.

_u no landline isnt only form of communication rite? ILL B WATCHIN U_

Texting back, _That's not creepy at all_ , Reid paused before adding _and when are you going to start using proper punctuation?_ before turning off his phone and getting back to work.

Only the nightmare continued.

Case in point: Paul Ryan, who Reid didn't actively hate on sight, had been continuing his therapy with more visits and finally meeting his daughter for the first time. Meg had rightly insisted on being there, but it'd been clear to Reid that Emily had been right about her. Meg clearly hated the fact that Paul didn't really care about her at all anymore, and was blatantly manipulating Paul into spending more time with her in order to have access to his kid. Reid didn't think she was even in love with Paul anymore - she just wanted the attention.

Crazy exes aside, meeting the kid had gone as well as it could. Paul's fears had mostly proven unfounded and he'd appeared slightly happier since. Reid used the word 'slightly' because Paul didn't ever seem to produce much emotion at all. He had actually been concerned it was an effect of the trauma to the brain, but by this point it just seemed to be a facet of his personality.

It was Thursday, and Paul was due to be released from the hospital soon. Reid was pleased; he'd been wanting the opportunity to show Paul where he'd been living for the last few years, see if it would jog any memories. Paul seemed satisfied, but quiet.

But then Reid realised Paul had been so quiet because he'd been busy watching Reid.

"What's up with you?"

Neatly stacking the flash cards he'd brought with him on the tray table - he preferred using them to a computer display - Reid frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"You," Paul nodded towards him, "you're all...gloomy."

Wonderful. "I've frequently been told that's my general disposition."

"No, this is something different," Paul replied perceptively, squinting as he studied him. "Broken heart?"

Reid found himself fiddling with the cards. "We both know I don't have one. Now," he quickly moved on, holding up the first card, "you remember how this works?"

"I told you - I'm not forgetting new stuff."

Anterograde amnesia was indeed unlikely on top of what he was already suffering, but Reid wasn't taking any chances with the nutcase Paul had for a mother. "Better safe than sorry," he argued, "you'll thank me if you do start forgetting new memories. Except - oh wait. You _won't remember anything_."

Even _Al's_ wasn't safe.

Surgery aside, _Al's_ was Reid's bastion against unwelcome thoughts of a specific Oakdalian. Because of the food. Surgery and food were his only distractions and if this kept up, his waistline was going to be paying for it soon.

That didn't stop him from ordering a cheese burger.

Definitely not chilli. Or cornbread. Or milkshakes.

Scowling at the offending items on the menu, Reid was startled when Henry stepped into view wearing another eye-dazzling shirt.

"Haven't seen you for a while," Henry said. "Not that I wanted to."

"Well if you'd actually turn up at your diner from time to time, you'd have been able to revel in my presence, just like always." The last few times he'd come into the diner, there'd been no sign of Henry at all.

"I was dealing with some...rather personal problems," Henry confessed, nodding towards the kitchen. "She's going through some extreme ups and downs at the moment."

"Yeah, I really don't care," Reid replied, bored. "I already gave that waitress my order. I really don't need the small talk today. Or any day, for that matter."

Drumming the fingers of one hand on the other side of the counter, Henry looked at him. Then spoke. "So, do you know what happened with Luke and Noah?"

Reid felt another twitch building in his eye, annoyed at himself for wondering if Henry was genuinely asking or if Henry actually had information to share - in which case Reid would finally _know_. God, he was pathetic. "I don't know, and I couldn't care less."

"Well it certainly didn't seem that way the other day," Henry said, "the way you rushed out of here after-"

This really had to stop. "Why do you hate Noah, anyway?" This was a much better topic. Safer. Listing Noah Mayer's many flaws was a far better way of spending his time.

"Hate's a strong word," Henry prevaricated. "More like...mild dislike, from time to time. He did break my baby sister's heart." Right, that whole closet deal. "And, you know, I am not not-understanding of our gay citizens. I imagine it can be incredibly difficult coming out - especially with Colonel Mayer as a father. I met that guy, and let me tell you, creepy is not the word. And I wasn't thrilled that Noah hurt Maddie so badly," Henry continued, "but she told me to cut him some slack, so for her I did. But given that he lied to her only to move on to Luke...and then to see him treat Luke that way, after all that..." He shook his head. "Words were needed."

Now Reid definitely wanted to know. "What did you say?"

"Oh, just a few Coleman pearls of wisdom. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Love thy neighbour. Speak to anyone in _Al's_ like that again, and you'll be banned for life." He grinned, charmingly.

Reid actually found himself chuckling. Briefly. Hank wasn't... _entirely_ useless. Occasionally.

"So, really," Henry pressed on eagerly, as if they'd been talking about it all along, "you and Luke?"

This again? Really? He might as well just go into hiding. "There is no me and Luke."

"Don't even try it, Mr Doctor Man," Henry advised. "I've seen the two of you in here together, remember? Making googly eyes at each other. Sucking on your milkshake straws suggestively. It was practically porn!"

This was intolerable. "I've never made googly eyes at anyone in my life."

"Ah ha!" Henry announced. "But you didn't deny the suggestive straw sucking!"

Rolling his eyes purposefully, Reid tried not to remember the somewhat childish but greatly entertaining straw-sucking they'd participated in. "Am I getting my food anytime soon? Or are you planning on continuing to grill a paying customer about their alleged personal life?"

Henry held his hands up. "All I'm saying, Dr Oliver, is that I am fully behind this thing between you and Luke. Mostly because it certainly couldn't make you _worse_ to be around. Who knows? If you were in love, you might even insult me every other sentence instead of every sentence. I call that a win!"

Reid twisted his lips. "It's important to have these aims in life."

"Glad we're in accord," Henry replied. "So, really," he leant forward, bracing his elbows on the counter, "anything I can do to help. I'm quite the matchmaker, you know."

Reid couldn't conceive of anything worse than letting Henry Coleman try to set him up with Luke. "Don't waste your time. Luke's already made it clear he's a one-guy guy." Luke wasn't a cheat, and Reid refused to let anyone try to encourage him otherwise. Far off in some strange, strange alternate universe, if he and Luke ever did get together, it would be because Luke wanted to, and he was ready.

"Really?" Henry asked, disappointed. "Wait," he then said speculatively, "does that mean you actually tried something, in order for him to make it clear he's a one-guy guy? Because if so, I insist on hearing all the juicy details-"

A loud buzzer saved Reid, sounding from the far end of the counter where the machines were.

"The toasted ciabatta!" Henry wailed, sprinting along the length of counter.

When Reid finally got his food he asked for a doggy bag, paid - and got the hell out of there.

*

Paul was finally being released, after his mother had been given specific instructions on how to care for the burns on his legs - she was already in the process of arranging for a private nurse to visit the home at least once a day.

The mother in question was currently standing in Paul's hospital room with Reid, who was doing everything possible to ignore her.

"So," Reid faced Paul, "you remember my wise, sage and extremely sound advice?" Reid did this frequently, giving Paul information then asking him to repeat it sometime later, testing his new memory retention.

"Get plenty of rest," Paul began listing robotically, clearly bored of this practice by now, "keep hydrated. Don't lose the instructions for your pain meds."

"I'll take care of that anyway," Barbara chirped happily, every inch the doting mother. Reid rolled his eyes.

Paul continued on. "Don't miss your PT sessions. Don't be a moron."

"That last one is the most important," Reid nodded approvingly, "and you will be a moron if you don't do exactly as I say."

"Your bedside manner is astounding, Doctor," Barbara told him, unimpressed.

Given his sudden and disturbing obsession with Luke, Reid was in even less of a mood than usual to be dealing with the likes of Barbara Ryan. "What, I'm required to be polite, now? Or is giving your son his memory back not enough? Tell me, Mrs Ryan, are you _ever_ satisfied?"

Taken aback, Barbara's face contorted into something ugly, no doubt ready to hurl a foul invective in Reid's direction - when she realised her son was still in the room. Paul knew nothing about the blackmail and since interacting with him post-brain surgery, Barbara had played the role of a caring, nurturing mother well. Reid smiled to himself internally as her face transformed into something far more publically acceptable - a smile.

"Oh, Doctor," she all but cooed, "you have such wit."

He wasn't impressed by the effort but then apparently neither was Paul, who was paying his mother no attention at all, instead spending his time frowning at Reid.

"So, really," Paul said suddenly, "definitely gloomier." If Reid was gloomier it was only because he'd been trapped in Bizarro Town. "Lose out on a big poker game?" Paul asked, still trying to decipher the cause of Reid's bad mood. "Shares took a nosedive? Get shot in the back by someone who claimed to be in love with you?"

And just like that, Reid and Barbara were willingly looking at each other. They both stepped towards Paul.

"What made you say that?" Reid deliberately kept his voice calm, not risking making Paul anxious - although it seemed unlikely, given it was Paul.

"Say what?"

"The last one," Reid prompted, "about someone shooting you in the back."

"I don't know," Paul shrugged, "it just came to mind. That's a saying, right? Shooting...no, stabbing someone in the back, right?"

"That's right," Reid confirmed, mentally going over past conversations that had happened in front of Paul. Reid had definitely talked about the shooting, but not when Paul was awake. It might be conceivable that Paul heard it and processed it somewhere in the back of his mind when he was sleeping, but...hmm. "Has Emily told you much about your past together?"

"Bits and pieces," Paul replied, "she said it's better to focus on what's happening now rather than what happened in the past."

No kidding. So, he hadn't been definitively told about the shooting, either. This was a potentially interesting development, but Reid didn't want to make too much of it just yet. He made a show of nodding. "I'll get someone to help you into a wheelchair." Stepping out of the room, Reid snapped his fingers at the first nurse he saw. "You! Nurse Thingymabob."

"It's Gretchen, Dr Oliver," she replied meekly.

"Yeah, that's fascinating. Get a wheelchair for this patient and get him into it."

She nodded almost frantically, scurrying away. "Yes, Doctor."

Quite frankly, he was getting so used to it that when Reid turned back around he was expecting to see Barbara Ryan waiting for him. He wasn't disappointed.

"This is a good development, yes?"

"It's a promising sign," he hedged his bets. "I'll only truly be pleased if he starts making more than one comment that could be ascribed to random chance. He could've overheard something. He could've just gotten lucky. I need more data to make an informed decision, which means - more waiting."

Barbara made a face. Reid was no fan of waiting, either, but in any medical field, more often than not the one thing a patient needed most was time.

"If he does start making similar comments, let me know immediately. And before you even ask," Reid raised a hand to forestall any comment that was about to emerge from her opening mouth, "no, beyond what I'm already doing, I cannot do anything to make this process go any faster. You know as well as I do that I have every reason to get this done as soon as humanly possible."

Sighing, disappointed, Barbara forced a smile onto her face and stepped back into her son's room. Reid was about to follow suit, when he saw a familiar face come squeaking around the corner. He'd seen Casey in passing since the Luke and Noah debacle, but one of them was always smack bang in the middle of something. This time, Casey didn't look like he rushing somewhere to clear up a spilt bedpan and Reid preferred doing anything than interacting with Barbara, so the timing was perfect.

He needed a few words with Casey Hughes.

"You," he hissed quietly, stepping towards Casey, "are an _idiot_."

Coming to a stop, jerking his head back in surprise, Casey nonetheless didn't take long to recover. "You need some new material," he responded, pushing his trolley forward again.

Reid stepped in front of him, forcing him to stop. Casey glared at him. They stood at opposite ends of the trolley, a battle of wills. Mano a mano. Hughes versus Oliver.

"Have you ever actually read a dictionary, Hughes?" Reid inched the trolley in Casey's direction. "You know, that big book with lots of words in it?"

Casey shoved it back. "Oh, another dig at my education?"

"Not expressly," Reid retorted. "I'm just wondering if you actually had any concept of what the world 'subtle' means?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Your little chat with Noah," Reid spat, "resulted in nothing but Noah taking a huge and very public chunk out of Luke's hide because his _friend_ has all the subtlety of Henry Coleman's shirts."

Casey didn't even have the sense of mind to look regretful. "Well I guess that proved your point, didn't it?"

Reid's grip loosened. "What point?"

"That Noah's an ass, isn't that how it goes? Well, you were right. Congratulations." Tugging the trolley out of Reid's grasp completely, Casey guided it around him and continued on his way, wheels squeaking on the hospital flooring.

Oh, they so weren't finished. Reid quickly caught up with him, walking with Casey as he wheeled the trolley along. "Are you saying you planned that? _Deliberately_?" That took the kind of planning even Reid would be proud of.

"I do actually use my brain, sometimes," Casey snapped back. "But I didn't..." Rolling to a stop, he slumped his shoulders and closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, he glanced over at Reid. "I didn't think it would backfire on Luke the way it did. I didn't think Noah would react the way he did. Man, I still can't believe it!"

"You know the details?"

"Showdown at the OK Corral?" Casey asked rhetorically. "It's a small town, as you like to remind just about everyone, and everyone knows who the Snyders' are. I knew all about it by the end of the day."

Somehow, Reid hadn't even considered that possibility. Luke hadn't just been humiliated in front of the people in the diner. By now, the whole town had to know about it. Noah had lived here for a few years; he knew how the town worked. As far as Reid was concerned, that only made his behaviour worse.

Reid wanted to ask the question, he really did. But he couldn't quite make himself.

Casey looked at him knowingly. "He's...okay, if you were wondering. Which I'm sure you weren't," he smirked slightly, "but just on the off chance you were. He's thinking things through. Working things out." Casey gave Reid one final look, a full up and down with his eyes. "God only know what he sees in you," Casey muttered, shaking his head, before pushing his trolley forward again and squeaking away.

Reid's mood was just taking an upswing for the first time in days, when Barbara Ryan appeared next to him.

"Why, Dr Oliver," she began, "I hope you weren't planning on making an escape."

She was the first person on his shit list when he got to Hell.

*

Katie was...strange when he got home.

"Hi!" she exclaimed, when he unlocked the door and let himself in. "You're here!"

"And you're stating the obvious!" he exclaimed back, closing the door behind him and throwing his keys onto the coffee table. "When the pregnancy is over, you should look into valium. Really."

She frowned at him. "Wouldn't that affect the baby if I'm breastfeeding?"

"She or he is your kid - trust me, they'll need it." Flopping down on the sofa, Reid sprawled out, relaxing completely.

Katie perched next to him, looking at her cell phone. "Hard day at work?"

Every day was a hard day when you had to deal with imbeciles who could barely change a bandage, never mind assist surgery. "Paul Ryan went home today. The arrival home was...interesting." Paul lived at some place stupidly named _Fairwinds_ , and had seemed impressed. Reid had gone with him and, frankly, he'd been more impressed by how fancy it was than he'd let on, i.e., he hadn't let on at all. "Didn't prompt any memories, though. He might have made a breakthrough earlier today," he conceded. "Not sure yet."

Glancing at her phone again, Katie suddenly jumped up. "I just remembered something! I'll be right back." She disappeared rapidly into her bedroom and a few moments later, the doorbell sounded.

Squinting suspiciously, Reid nonetheless walked across the room and opened the door.

And somehow wasn't at all surprised to see Luke standing in the doorway.

Luke certainly seemed surprised to see him, though, judging by the comically shocked expression that appeared on his face. "What are you doing here?"

Tipping his head back, hand still grasping the door handle, Reid closed his eyes and prayed for patience. "Katie!"

"Oh, Luke!" She greeted, walking up behind Reid. "What a-"

"Can it, Peretti," Reid interrupted, turning around to glare at her. "My room. _Now_."

Clutching her phone between her fingers, she encouraged Luke to come in. "Make yourself at home, Luke. We'll be right back."

Reid had already walked off and was now waiting not-so-patiently beside his bed. The moment Katie stepped in and closed the door behind her, Reid launched his attack. "I'm not even going to ask what the hell you think you're doing because it's blatantly obvious what you think you're doing. How could you possibly think, even for a second, that something this ridiculous could even work?"

"You've been like a bear with a sore paw for days, Reid!" She argued. "No - a mutilated paw! When Henry told me what happened at the diner-"

"You, what?" Reid demanded. "Decided this idiocy was a good idea? I thought you were all ‘Yay! Luke and Noah!'" He waved his hands either side of his head. "What, you suddenly changed your mind?"

"That's not what happened," she defended, before pausing. "Not exactly. But when I heard about the things Noah said to Luke, and then Henry told me about how you two were together..."

"Henry is a biased observer," Reid retorted, "he seems to think he has a promising future as Oakdale's premiere matchmaker."

Katie immediately looked guilty.

"Oh, _don't_ tell me..."

The doorbell rang again.

"Unbelievable," Reid muttered, shaking his head, yanking open the door. Luke was dithering in the living room, clearly trying to decide if he should open the door or not. Reid saved him the trouble, opening the door himself.

"Bubbles!" Henry immediately declared, sweeping into the room. "Sorry to intrude, but I need your help for-"

"Save whatever lame excuse you're about to conjure up, Hank," Reid informed him, "whatever it is, it'll be terrible."

Pausing, Henry nodded, conceding the point. "In that case, I'll just...go." He pointed towards the door, then started heading out the way he'd just come in.

Katie was right behind him. "See you later!" she declared, slamming the door behind her.

Reid stared at Luke. Luke stared at Reid.

It was really, _really_ good to see Luke. Christ.

Reid sighed, rubbing a hand over his face and sitting down on the sofa. "Can you believe those two idiots?"

Luke shrugged awkwardly, still standing. "I guess...they're just trying to do something nice for us, right?"

He really was unbelievable. "Always seeing the good side," Reid shook his head, smiling vaguely. Glancing up at Luke, he then focused his gaze down on the coffee table. "You might as well go. You don't need to hang around. I know you don't want to be around me."

"You're living with Brad and Katie?" Luke queried, as if he'd only just figured it out. "How did I not know that?"

"Well, once they put this 'plan' together, they were probably deliberately trying to hide it."

Luke nodded thoughtfully. "In any case...not wanting to spend time with you is _really_ not the problem," he said in a rush. Pausing, he lifted his gaze upward as if trying to find focus. "In fact," he admitted eventually, bringing his gaze back to Reid, "that's the complete opposite of the problem." Reid didn't need it spelled out, but Luke spelled it out just the same. "I want to be around you. All the time."

Jesus Christ. Shooting to his feet, Reid paced over towards the kitchen. "I can't believe you."

"What?" Luke asked, completely confused.

"You can't just _say_ that crap when you're dating someone else," he told him, swinging back around.

"You think I don't know that?" Luke asked, pained. "Why do you think I..?"

"What?" Reid asked. "Went into hiding?"

"Pretty much," Luke confessed. "You're a...serious distraction. I can't deal with that _and_ Noah right now."

"Smart man," Reid nodded. "So get out." This was too much. This was actually too much for Reid to handle. After the last few days, Hank and Katie's ridiculous intervention, being blackmailed into staying in Oakdale by Barbara Ryan and Reid's own constant thoughts of Luke, he was done.

"Reid-"

"No, no," Reid interrupted, "you said so yourself. I'm too much of a distraction. Don't tell me that and then suddenly want to spend time with me. You're not a cheater and I'm nobody's second best. And I don't want you around me, either," he insisted, "because when you're around I do ridiculous things like wanting to hear your opinion, care if Bob is actually developing dementia, lurk around different parts of Oakdale, trying to eavesdrop on brain dead people and their insipid conversations. Reid Oliver does not _lurk!_ Get out!"

Luke set his jaw firmly, nostrils flaring. "You've made yourself perfectly clear, Dr Oliver. I'm sorry the time we've known each other has been so inconvenient for you. But you don't need to worry about me wanting to spend any more time in your majestic presence. Rest assured, that will _never_ happen again."

Jaw still firmly set, Luke walked out of the apartment - and out of Reid's life.

*

At the ass-crack of dawn the next day Reid was already in his office on the computer, searching for apartments to rent. He'd already bookmarked a few that he wanted to look into in more detail; see if they met his stringent standards and were worth a viewing. Reid wasn't particularly fussy about having huge amounts of space - he was basically only going to be sleeping there - but it did have to be easy to maintain, well-built and exceptionally clean.

He'd just found another likely suspect, when the door to his office opened. Reid flicked his gaze up, then flicked it back down to the monitor. "Most civilised human beings knock before attempting to enter someone's office."

Brad knocked on the open door.

Reid sighed.

Apparently taking that as invitation to enter, Brad stepped inside, closed the door behind him and sat at the opposite side of Reid's desk.

Shaking his head, Reid still didn't look at him, scrolling through options. "You people," he complained, "always commenting on how rude I am, how my manners just aren't up to scratch. And yet you're constantly barging in or sitting down uninvited. Do I have this behaviour to look forward to from any future Snyder's I unfortunately run in to?"

Brad didn't seem fazed, but then Reid wasn't sure Brad's brain operated at a level above 'beloved family dog'. He seemed to spend a lot of time doing nothing but being enthusiastic. Even if he was upset about something, he was upset _enthusiastically_.

"So, um," he began.

"Save your breath," Reid retorted, selecting a preferred price range, "Katie has plainly sent you here on her behalf to beg for mercy. It's not going to work. I actually respected her ability to manipulate people," he confessed, clicking on a link, "but there's a difference between manipulating people to help you and being _completely insane._ There are bad judgement calls and then there's _that._ " Who the hell thought collaborating with Henry Coleman on a romantic endeavour could ever end well?

"You just have to understand how Katie works, that's all," Brad explained, apparently unconcerned about Reid's brush-off. "And I know how you feel, really. She's pulled this kind of stuff on me in the past."

Interesting. "And you're still with her?"

"She's worth it, man," Brad shrugged, "and it's not like I'm always smelling of roses, you know? Look," he tried again, "she only did any of this because she cares about you. And I think you're not half-bad," he admitted generously. "You should give her another chance."

Reid wasn't used to people caring about him. He certainly wasn't used to people caring about him so _sneakily_. "What's to say she won't pull this kind of crap again?"

The door suddenly burst open. Reid's gaze was finally ripped away from the monitor as he stared at surprise at Katie, who had plainly been listening in. "I won't," she assured him emotionally, rushing to his side, eyes watering. "I promise, Reid! I just wanted you to be happy! And Luke! You're both so wonderful - even though you are a little grumpy," she added as an aside. "And if you stay with us, you don't have to go to the inconvenience of finding your own place, viewing apartments, negotiating the contract. You'll already have a place, with a large sofa and a huge refrigerator."

Damn her for knowing him so well. She actually did make it sound like an appealing proposition, despite her abundance of emotion. But Reid really didn't want to make it that easy for her. Leaning back in his chair he swivelled towards her, squinting purposefully. "You pay for all my sandwiches for the next month."

She launched herself towards him, and Reid was horrified to realise she was hugging him.

"Oh, Reid!" she exclaimed. "Thank you so much!"

Even as he awkwardly tried to dislodge her, Reid shared a look with Brad. "God save me from pregnant women and their hormones."

"You're not sharing a job with her at the moment," Brad replied sympathetically. "One minute she's crying over a story about an abandoned puppy-"

"But it was so cute!" Katie interrupted, finally pulling away from Reid. Reid brushed the front of his lab coat down. "With its little _eyes._ "

Brad continued on. "And the next she's-"

"She's _what?_ " Katie demanded imperiously, standing with her hands on her hips.

"Not at all scary," Brad replied quickly, wide-eyed. "So, are we done?" he asked, glancing between Katie and Reid, gesturing behind him with his thumb, "only I have some stuff I could be doing-"

"Go," Reid encouraged, making shooing motions with his right hand, "both of you. Get out of here before I change my mind. I've been _hugged_ ," he shuddered, "enough for one day."

Brad wasted no time getting out of there, disappearing out the door with a smile. Katie lingered a little longer.

"Really, Reid," she told him genuinely, calm now. "I thought I was helping."

He knew that. "I know," he told her, actually thinking that terrible cliché, _her heart was in the right place_ , "and because you are such an idiot, I've decided to be generous and not hold your idiocy against you. Much."

Katie smiled. "You don't fool me, Dr Oliver."

Reid tilted his head. "How so?"

"You wouldn't have gotten so angry if you didn't care so much about Luke."

Did she never learn? Immediately turning away from her, Reid grabbed his mouse and stared at the monitor. "Sandwiches," he reminded, "for a _month_." Realistically, he knew he'd caved much, much too easily and he was trying not to focus on what that said about him.

"It might break the bank," she teased, "but somehow we'll manage."

*

For the next few weeks, life passed as ordinarily as it could in Oakdale. There was a car crash (Reid had operated on and saved the life of a guy with the ridiculous name 'Dusty'. Seriously. Who did that to their kid?), a murder-suicide pact, Reid tried to help Paul get his memory back, tried and inevitably failed not to think about Luke - but worst of all, _Al's_ had to close temporarily due to a health scare.

Henry had yet to work his way back into Reid's good books - not that he'd ever actually been in Reid's good books. More like the 'they're not _that_ bad' books.

That didn't mean he didn't try often, and at length, to engage Reid in conversation. Unfortunately, whenever he did, he only had one subject to moan about. Greatly.

"I'm going to be _ruined_ ," he exclaimed, sitting next to Reid in a bar Reid had recently found called _Yo's_. "It doesn't matter that they traced the problem to the delivery van. _My_ food made people sick. My reputation's toast!"

"Toast, ha," Reid nodded, wishing Henry would go away. "And you work in a diner. I see what you did there."

Henry stuck his head out of his gloom for once. "Seriously, are you ever going to get over Luke? Because this mooning over him stuff is making me feel even worse."

"Can't be any worse than your customers felt after they ate your food," Reid shot back. "And I do not moon. Mooning is what teenage girls do when the jock of their dreams turns out to be an inevitable disappointment."

Henry tilted his head. "I see nothing in that statement that doesn't relate to you. Luke used to be on the basketball team, you know."

"In any case," Reid glared, "you were all gung-ho for the Luke and Reid show. What's the matter - not liking the casting, now?"

"It could do with some improvements," Henry nodded, "mostly I'm just tired of you pouting all the time."

"I keep telling you to leave me alone," Reid pointed out. "If you're disturbed by whatever imaginary expression you think you're seeing on my face, it's your own fault."

Henry apparently had no answer to that, and lapsed into silence.

Grateful, Reid kept nursing the one non-alcoholic drink he'd ordered - he was on-call and he wasn't much of a drinker anyway - mostly just tracing the rim of the glass with his fingers. A few moments later, Henry deliberately thumped his head down on the bar.

"I'm _ruined!_ "

Reid closed his eyes, pained by the melodrama that seemed to be inherent in Oakdale and its inhabitants. The sooner Paul got his memory back, the better. Life really couldn't get any worse.

*

Reid was putting his lab coat on in the staff room when Bob walked in.

"Bob," he nodded, closing his locker.

"Reid," he greeted genially. "I was hoping to find you. I wanted to ask how things are progressing with Paul Ryan."

"Same as ever, for the most part," Reid shrugged, reaching up to straighten his collar. "I'm looking into some new therapies to try - there's some interesting research coming out of Germany at the moment." When he said interesting, he meant 'crazy, brand new analysis that he'd never even considered before'. At this point, Reid was willing to try anything even vaguely scientific.

Bob nodded thoughtfully. "Sounds like you've got everything well in hand. And your first transfer from Dallas is coming to _Memorial_ soon?"

"Next week," Reid confirmed.

"The 25th, that's right," he said. "I expect you're eager to continue with something you have such a personal investment in. You must be pleased."

Reid narrowed his eyes, studying Bob suspiciously. "...okay?"

"And you did an excellent job with Dusty Donovan last week," Bob said proudly, "the fact that he's been released from hospital already is a testament to your-"

Okay, this really had to stop. "Bob," Reid spoke very, very slowly, "are you...trying to _compliment_ me?"

He had the gall to not even look embarrassed, even though he'd clearly be caught out. "Reid," Bob replied, giving up the pretense, "it has come to my attention that you're not your usual...robust self of late. I don't know what's caused this apparent change and - I'm aware that it's unlikely - but should you feel the need to talk about anything that's...concerning you, Kim has informed me that I'm a very good listener."

Reid just stared at him in disbelief. That was kind of...God help him, _adorable_. How a sixty-something man could even manage that feat, Reid didn't know - but somehow Bob did.

Not that there was any chance in hell of Reid taking him up on the offer. "Look, Bob, much as I-"

The door suddenly swung open, and Margo Hughes rushed inside. She'd clearly been crying, her eyes still wet and her nose a bright, unattractive splotch of red. No doubt there was more melodrama. "Dad," she gasped, "sorry to interrupt-"

Bob walked towards hers, grasping her forearms. "Margo, what on earth's the matter?"

"I'll, uh, get out of your way," Reid volunteered, gratefully slipping out of the room, considering himself lucky to escape. He kept himself busy for a few minutes, checking on a patient in the opposite room and when he emerged again, Bob and Margo were in the doorway of the staff room. Bob looked quite emotional himself and Reid found himself getting intrigued despite his impulse not to.

"-but someone has to _tell_ him," Margo was saying.

Bob placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You have work to do, Margo. I'll tell him. Really. Go on," he urged. Hesitating for a moment, Margo eventually nodded, straightened her back and walked away.

When she was out of view, Bob's shoulders slumped visibly, a hand coming up to his face. When he started slowly shaking his head in disbelief at whatever news he'd just received, Reid actually found himself taking a step towards him.

Someone else got there first.

"Grandpop?"

Startled, Bob quickly lowered his hand and lifted his head. "Casey."

"Is everything okay?" Casey asked, concerned, stepping away from the trolley he'd just wheeled past the nurses' station.

"I, um," Bob frowned, eyes moist, "I need to talk to you actually. Come in, come in." Reaching behind him, he pushed the door open.

Hesitating, as if he could tell it was bad news, Casey eventually stepped inside.

Before the door has even swung shut, Reid was walking across the corridor. Given Margo's emotional reaction and even Bob's quiet display, it had to be something serious. Loss of a family member?

Peering through the open shutters hanging inside the only window in the room, Reid watched as Bob spoke to Casey, watched as Casey started shaking his head, as Casey started pushing against Bob in despair.

It was painful to watch. It had to be a death. Family member? Friend?

And suddenly his mind was there.

_Friend._

He hadn't seen Luke, even in passing, for days.

He _hadn't seen Luke for days._

Reid's throat went dry.

Mere seconds later Casey was bursting out of the room, anguished, running across the corridor and out of sight.

"Casey!" Bob called after him, pausing in the doorway. After a few seconds, he slumped to one side.

None of that mattered. Reid walked up to him robotically. "What happened?"

Sighing heavily, Bob shook his head slowly. "There...was an accident. Holden Snyder."

_Holden. Snyder. Luke's Dad. Not Luke._

_Not Luke._

That was good. Luke would hate him forever if he ever found out, but Reid didn't give a crap.

"He was driving to a horseshow in Kentucky," Bob explained quietly. "They're still trying to piece together exactly what happened, but his truck...it went off a cliff," he shook his head. "But the worst thing," he continued, voice horrified now, "is that at the last minute, Luke decided to go with him."

_No._

Reid couldn't do anything but stand there and listen to Bob tell him that Luke was dead.

"The bodies were..." Bob paused, swallowing. "They're arranging for dental records to confirm absolutely, but apparently, given the height and apparent age..." He shook his head. "As far as we can tell, Luke and Holden are both dead."

*

Bob prattled on about the tragedy of it all - Holden being such a well-known figure in town, Luke's young and troubled life - but it didn't matter.

Nothing mattered.

Reid managed to produce words, managed to join letters and syllables together to make some kind of sense, blurt something out about needing time and then he was turning and walking away.

He didn't have a car in Oakdale - it was so small that, so far, he hadn't needed one - but he wouldn't have been capable of driving anyway.

Reid walked. And walked.

He walked through _Memorial_ , out to the parking lot. Into the _Lakeview_ , stopping at the elevator, glaring at the people sitting at the table in the dining room, laughing. Past _Al's_ with it's optimistic _We'll Be Back in Business Soon!_ poster. Walked by the cutesy, irritating antique shop; the bench Noah and Mason had cuddled up on and Luke had freaked out by. He paused outside _Java_ , which he'd stupidly started avoiding so he wouldn't have to see Noah Mayer's equally stupid face.

Luke was everywhere.

In _Java_ , the first place they met - accusing Reid of being a homophobe. At _Al's_ , with his sticky-up hair, sucking down milkshakes and telling Reid that writing _I believe that patient care is as vitally important to recovery as treatment_ on his application wasn't an outright lie, because he knew Reid cared more than he let on. In the elevator at the _Lakeview_ , somehow growling and laughing the first time Reid beat him at chess, demanding they try again, leaning in close as he immediately loaded a new game. By the bench in _Old Town_ , throwing his arms around in anger; telling Reid about his drinking.

Even the apartment wasn't safe. Luke was there most of all, fighting back against Reid just as passionately, telling Reid he never intended to see him again.

Reid had no conscious drive or impulse. He just kept walking because if he stopped for longer than a few seconds, there was no telling what might happen. He honestly had no idea.

He couldn't do nothing. He had to do _something_.

So he walked.

At some point, his phone started ringing. Fumbling it out of his pocket, he blinked a few times, clearing his eyes to see the Caller ID.

_Katie is calling..._

Rejecting the call, Reid turned his phone off and put it away.

He walked past a club named _Metro_ , WOAK, the Oakdale Police Department. Some place called The Wagon Wheel Inn. He thought about getting a room there, somewhere no one knew he'd be - but that would mean he'd have to stop moving.

Eventually he blinked and realised he was back outside the hospital - but that was no good, either. In the hospital, Luke was being officially introduced to him, actually being thankful for Reid's snarky advice. Merrily chomping away on Reid's bacon and toast, telling him all about the time that Henry Coleman's _other_ sister went insane and murdered a bunch of teenagers at Raven Lake. Literally bumping into Reid in the corridor, then holding on tightly, smiling and looking so, so ridiculously pleased to see him. In the gym, following Reid's instructions to the letter, letting out all his anger and frustration towards Noah-

Yes.

Yes. Perfect.

Reid walked straight to _Memorial's_ gym. A few people tried to flag him down, catch his attention. Reid either ignored them completely or brushed them aside. The doors to PT swept open automatically and not long after that, Reid was stepping into the gym. It wasn't empty; a few patients present with their therapists. Reid ignored them, too, stripping off his lab coat as he stalked across the room, stepping around equipment, taking the fastest route possible to the far corner. As soon as he was in range, he tossed his lab coat aside and aimed a punch towards the bag with all his strength. The punching bag veered wildly away, immediately swinging back towards him. Reaching up to grab the sides with both hands, Reid clung on, pressing his forehead against the material, closing his eyes, trying to contain this living, burning _thing_ inside of him.

This was what always happened. It'd happened time and time again. His parents no longer giving a crap about him when he refused to play chess anymore. His grandfather's sudden stroke when Reid was fifteen. The classmates at high school, who hated him for being smart. The so-called friends from college, who only wanted to ride on his success. The idiots from medical school, who turned on him when he won the grant.

Every time there were 'feelings' involved, Reid got screwed over.

Every. Damn. Time.

He never learned. Why the fuck did he never _learn?_

Exhaling a heavy breath, Reid dug his fingers into the material before pushing himself away, readying his stance, remembering everything his Grandfather had taught him.

*

_The day Reid came home from school with a black eye and bruised knuckles, Grandpa finally took him to the gym. Mom and Dad had never allowed it, informing Reid quite confidently that nothing good could ever come from any kind of violence, no matter how successful Grandpa was. He was far better off concentrating only on his chess and his education._

_They had to drive by the front of the gym to get to the parking lot and Reid stared up at in interest, nose all but pressed up against the glass. **Beacon Hill Boxing Club** it said on the front of the large, old brick building. Despite his parents' wishes, Reid couldn't wait to see inside._

_Reid knew that Grandpa knew what he was doing, but even he was surprised at just how fast he was in the gym, changing into shorts and a t-shirt, and watching as Grandpa tied the boxing gloves on. Reid liked his hands, his fingers. They helped him to write essays, play chess, eat - all of his favourite activities. Despite his excitement at finally be able to come here, it felt...weird to have them so contained. It wasn't like in winter, when Mom forced him into those embarrassing patterned mittens. This was even more profound._

_"So," Grandpa said when both gloves were on, stepping back and folding his arms across his chest, "what kind of idiot starts a fight with someone bigger than them, when they've never thrown a punch before in their life?"_

_Defiantly lifting his chin, Reid fought against the blush he could feel staining his cheeks. "He was the idiot," he argued, "bullying me just because I'm smarter than him."_

_"So you figured, what?" Grandpa asked. "You'd show him who was boss? How'd that work out when you ended up on your ass with a black eye?"_

_Shamed, Reid glanced down. "I tried just talking to him first," he confessed, "but he was too dumb to understand any of my insults." Hearing a noise, Reid looked back up to see Grandpa raising a hand to his mouth and turning his head away. Reid was horrified. "Are you laughing at me?"_

_"You bet my ass I am, kid," Grandpa chuckled, shaking his head as he looked back at him. "You're something else, you know that?"_

_Reid wasn't pleased about being laughed at, but that last thing had sounded like a compliment. He shifted in place._

_Growing serious, Grandpa reached out both hands and placed them on Reid's shoulders. "Let me tell you something, kid. You're not here to learn how to fight. You're here to focus all that rage inside of you - and do something with it. I should've done this a long time ago," he added sadly, patting Reid on the right shoulder before pulling both hands away. "Stupid ass daughter of mine."_

_Reid knew that Mom and Grandpa didn't like each other very much, that they only kept in contact because Grandpa would've kicked up too big a fuss about seeing Reid otherwise. "Mom and Dad said I'm not allowed to do this," he found himself saying, moving his gloved fists up and down._

_It didn't bother Grandpa at all. "Lucky for you, they're at that conference until the weekend. And try as they might, they couldn't find anyone else to look after you, so you're stuck with me. Of course, it _is_ your choice," he added slyly, "if you don't want to do it..."_

_"I didn't say that," Reid replied immediately. "I want to try."_

_Smirking, Grandpa placed a hand on Reid's back and guided him out of the sweaty-smelling locker room, into the equally sweaty-smelling training area. The same people who'd greeted Grandpa on the way in greeted him again, but left them alone. Once Reid was standing next to a punching bag - it looked huge, with the word **Everlast** printed on one side - Grandpa stood right next to him._

_"Never punch anyone when you're angry," Grandpa told him, watching Reid to make sure he was paying attention. "The only time it's acceptable to punch someone in anger is if you're defending yourself, or someone you love. Mindless violence does nothing but make you look like an idiot - and didn't we decide a few years ago that you weren't an idiot?"_

_Reid grinned, remembering the conversation. "You said we were the only non-idiots in the family. And then you said I should never tell Mom that you said that."_

_Smiling, Grandpa shook his head in apparent disbelief. "Memory like an elephant. So," he continued, "while mindless violence makes you look like an idiot, controlled violence can be a very, very useful tool. When aimed at something like this," he held an arm out towards the punching bag, "not another human being. Are we extremely clear about this, Reid?"_

_Grandpa was speaking so seriously, staring at Reid with such severe eyes, that he wouldn't have even dreamed of not paying attention. He nodded enthusiastically, wide-eyed._

_"Good." Grandpa's eyes transformed to match his sudden smile. "Now, stand sideways. Lead with your left side."_

_Reid followed every instruction Grandpa gave him, determined to give him nothing to complain about, to prove how good he could be. Grandpa told him about the right way to hold his fists inside the gloves, which way his feet should be facing, the movement he needed to keep in his knees and hips. He told him the right way to draw his arm back, which part of his fist he should be trying to hit the punching bag with._

_And then he finally let Reid start hitting the bag._

_It was messy at first; that much was obvious even to Reid. But Grandpa kept encouraging him, correcting him and eventually Reid found the technique, found a rhythm and Grandpa stopped talking. He didn't need to anymore._

_The bruise around his eye was throbbing. The bruises already on his fingers hurt even more. It didn't matter._

_Reid just **was**._

"Reid!"

Shocked out of his routine, Reid turned; his next punch just barely clipping the bag. It swung back towards him, hitting him, but he barely shifted.

Katie was standing before him, tears in her eyes.

She knew.

She _knew._

Panting, breathing heavily, Reid knew he should be feeling the strain on his muscles, the sweat-soaked clothes sticking to his skin. He didn't feel anything. He didn't feel anything at all.

"I've been looking for you," she explained hesitantly, tangling the fingers of her hands together. "You wouldn't answer your phone. And then Alison told me she saw you heading down here," she gestured towards the rest of the gym. Reid didn't even know who Alison was, but he followed Katie's gaze automatically. There was no else in the gym. "You scared them all off," she tried to smile, but it didn't work. "I wanted to...see how-" Her eyes widened as she noticed something and she suddenly stepped towards him, grabbing his wrists. "Oh my God, Reid. Your hands!"

Blinking slowly, Reid looked down at his hands as she turned them over. They were red, and raw, and bruising already.

"How long have you been doing this?"

He shook his head silently. He had no idea.

It didn't matter, anyway.

"Come with me, okay?" she said carefully, trying to guide him away from the corner. "We'll get someone to look at your hands."

But it was too late. He'd stopped walking, stopped moving at all for more than a few seconds by now. A lot longer than a few seconds. Reid could...feel it.

Luke was dead.

Luke was _dead._

"I don't know," he hissed quietly, lifting his hands up so they were facing his chest, shaking them. "I don't know what _this_ is."

Head tilting sympathetically in understanding, Katie at least seemed to know and she stepped closer still, wrapping her arms around him. Reid didn't even try to pull out of the hug. He couldn't, letting his arms hang by his sides. He could feel it now, the damage he'd done to his hands. And it still didn't matter.

"I don't know what this _is_ ," he whispered into her neck.

Sniffing, she rubbed a hand over his back soothingly. "I didn't know," she replied emotionally, voice breaking. "I didn't know you were in love with him."

*

Reid refused to let anyone in the hospital tend to his hands, but he did let Katie drive him to the apartment. They didn't speak the entire time, Katie throwing him worried, frantic looks from the drivers' seat; Reid sitting in the passenger seat with his head down, battered hands resting face-up on his lap, fingers curling inward.

Inside the apartment she ordered him to sit down on the sofa as she headed towards the kitchen. Noises; the sound of a door opening, the crack of plastic and a few moments later she was back, ice wrapped in a towel as she perched next to him on the sofa.

"I don't even know what hand to do first," she explained quickly. "Should I make another one up? But you're right-handed, right? Maybe we should just do one at a time. I'll make another one," she suddenly decided, rising to her feet.

Reid finally had something else to focus on. Hand snapping out, he grabbed hold of her wrist. "Katie," he said firmly, and when she looked back at him he met her gaze. "You need to calm down," he explained, "the baby."

Freezing briefly, she nodded and quickly sat back down, handing the ice pack over to Reid. "Brad will probably force me into bed the moment he sees me," she tried to joke.

"I really don't need to know that much about straight sex, Katie."

They shared a brief, awful smile. Reid pressed the pack to the knuckles of his right hand, hissing slightly.

"I can't stay," she said quietly, awkwardly looking down at her hands, clasped tightly together as they rested on their knees. "All the Snyder's are getting together at the farm. I'm a Snyder now," she shrugged. "And Brad needs me there."

That was okay. That was even expected; the way it should be. Everyone had their own priorities. Reid had never come first to anyone, except maybe his Grandfather.

"You should come, too," she added in a rush, looking up at him. "That's why I came to find you, actually. I was there when Brad got the phone call," she paused, her face reflecting the shock and pain of that moment. "And he told me to find you. That you should be there, too."

Luke's family? Why on earth would the Snyder's want him there? Confused, Reid shook his head. "Katie...they don't even know me."

"Luke knew you," she reminded him gently, "and he cared about you. And he'd want you to be there. That's all that matters."

Reid couldn't do it. Generous though the invitation was, there was no way that Reid could sit there while Luke's small town family grieved a father and son on the same day that he'd learnt that Luke was dead.

"I can't."

For once, she didn't try to argue, didn't try to persuade or change his mind. Didn't try anything underhanded or sneaky. Nodding in understanding, she leant forward and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll call you later, okay?" she told him, drawing back. "Look after your hands." After one last, emotional attempt at a smile, she stood up and walked out of the apartment.

The rest of the day - and night - crawled by agonisingly slowly. Reid tended to his hands only because Katie had instructed him to. He actually found himself mentally re-counting every interaction he'd ever had with Luke, trying to calculate what mistakes he'd made, what he could've done differently to make sure Luke never decided to go on that trip with his father. Reid wasn't usually one for re-living past mistakes or regrets; what was, was, and short of the development of an actual working time machine, there was nothing anyone could do about it.

But he couldn't stop himself.

Maybe if he'd been more overt about his attraction to Luke, made a real pass at him, Luke might've broke things off with Noah and hooked up with Reid, instead. On the other hand, he might've clung to Noah for dear life, then be grateful for the excuse to leave town and get the hell away from Reid. If Reid had somehow managed to be more distant, forced himself to keep away - the way he knew he would've been able to if he really, really wanted to - maybe that could've changed things, too. If Barbara Ryan hadn't been a scarily obsessed parent, he wouldn't have been forced to get to know Luke for longer; only staying in Oakdale for the few days he'd originally planned.

If he hadn't been so damn fascinated by Paul Ryan's case and in his own self-interest, he never would've gone to Oakdale in the first place, would've never even met Luke Snyder and wouldn't be so affected by his death, now.

So many people, so many events. Without a single one of them, he wouldn't have come to know Luke as well as he had.

Fate had proven that, once again, it was a real bitch.

Collapsing on the bed, he didn't sleep, reflecting on what Katie had said in the gym. Was this love? This gnawing, gaping hole inside of him? Reid had had no practical experience of it before, not being _in_ love and if this was love - or anything even remotely like it - he knew he'd been right to avoid it for all this time. Meeting someone, developing these _feelings_ for them - and in an instant it could all be snatched away. Even if you were blissfully happy together - which was extremely unlikely, given human nature in general - there was no guarantee at all that you'd both live into incontinence together. If Reid ever were to take the chance, he actually didn't want the 'chance' aspect at all. He'd want an absolute guarantee - all or nothing, the way he'd lived his entire adult life. Together until they died of old age, or nothing at all.

But there was no such thing, and this event only proved it.

He tried the television. The computer. Working on his paper about Paul Ryan.

Nothing worked.

After a long, relentless night where he barely slept, confirmation came in the form of a phone call from an emotional Katie - both sets of dental records were a match. Luke and Holden Snyder had been officially declared dead.

In contrast, the next few hours were a blur. There were few specific memories: sitting on the edge of the bed. The phone in his hand. An automated voice repeating the same phrase, over and over, telling him to hang up the phone.

But mostly it was the grief. Reid had never felt anything like it - and when he realised that, really and truly realised it, that was the moment he started moving. It'd worked for him before. It'd work for him again.

Work was entirely out of the question, but the Snyder Farm...it would be almost impossible to bear, but sitting here, doing nothing but living in his own head, would be even more unbearable.

And Luke...

Luke would want him to go.

He showered, shaved and dressed. He disinfected and treated his hands. He called Katie.

She was at the apartment within twenty minutes, greeting him warily. "You have everything you need?"

Reid walked past her, straight out the door. "Let's go."

He didn't notice much about the drive, other than it took longer than almost any other journey he'd taken in Oakdale. It was only when she turned onto a property that his mind focused again, seeing the nearby house, smaller buildings clustered around it, the barn further out. It looked like acres of rolling fields, a picture perfect American dream.

Reid snorted.

Katie finally spoke again as they left the car, crossing the ground to the house on foot. "Lily's pretty inconsolable," she cautioned, "she's staying up in the bedroom. You probably won't see her. Emma, Holden's mom, is coping by frantically cooking everything in sight, so don't be surprised if she dumps a tray of food in your lap. The kids are..." she sighed. "Ethan, the youngest, doesn't really get what's going on. Natalie and Faith are in pieces. Luke held them all together, you know?"

That didn't surprise Reid at all.

Reaching the house, Katie pulled open the porch door.

Damian Grilmaldi was the first person Reid saw. Currently talking to someone on his cell phone, when he caught sight of Reid, he ended the call with an abrupt burst of a foreign language, snapping the phone shut. "What are _you_ doing here?" he demanded, positioning himself in front of the door that led into the house.

Reid's patience was at incredible new lows. "I was invited. Get out of my way."

"Luke was _my_ son," Damian responded, eyes red, "I don't want you-"

"Damian Grimaldi," a female voice interrupted, and Reid looked behind Damian to see a dark-haired woman standing in the doorway to the house, holding the door open. "This is _my_ house and _I_ say who is and isn't allowed in."

Damian was immediately all pleasantry. "Of course, Emma," he acknowledged, lowering his head slightly, "my apologies. My emotions are..." Pausing, he glanced away. "I will go and see if Lily needs anything," he announced, stepping towards the house. Emma moved out of the way to allow him access.

Reid thought she seemed surprisingly together for someone who'd just lost a son and a grandson.

"Dr Oliver, isn't it?" she asked, surprising Reid. "Katie told me that you were coming - and what you meant to Luke. Thank you for coming," she said genuinely, holding out a hand.

Reid didn't know what to say. He couldn't even really shake her hand. "Um," he said, gesturing. "Accident."

When she saw his hands, her gaze softened and she lowered her arm. "Do you need anything? How's the pain?"

Christ, no wonder Luke was the way he was. She'd just lost her son and grandson, and here she was asking if _he_ needed anything.

"I'm fine," he shook his head, not wanting the escape from the pain. The pain was inevitably worse the day after and he deserved every second of it.

Everything changed once they were inside the house. If she'd been calm and welcoming outside, she was clearly on a frantic mission from God to create as many baked goods as possible inside the house. She'd obviously roped a couple of family members into helping her, two of them sitting forlornly at the kitchen table, cutting fruit up on chopping boards. Glancing up, they nodded at Reid - not looking in the least bit familiar - then were instantly rebuked by Emma for deviating from their task.

"It has to be perfect!" she told them. "Absolutely perfect!"

Reid and Katie shared a look. Katie shrugged as if to say, _I did warn you_ , and then they got the hell out of there. Brad turned out to be in the family room with a bunch of other people, including a few kids. In the middle of talking to another man, Brad paused when he saw Katie and Reid walk in. Punching the other man on the shoulder, he nodded and then walked towards them.

"Sofa," he said to Katie, "right now."

"Brad," she whined quietly.

"You should've let me pick him up. Your doctor _told_ you to take it easy after the scare. And it's not like we've had an easy couple of days. Or do I have to call Dr Zenkman and tell him you're not following doctor's orders?"

Reid had to admit to being impressed. He hadn't thought Brad had it in him. Or that Brad could be that serious.

After Katie had huffed away to the sofa, losing her anger when she wrapped her arms around a young girl sitting there, Brad nodded at him. "Thanks for coming, man."

"I was surprised you even asked me."

"You're meant to be a genius, right?" Brad asked. "Could've fooled me." Spotting someone off to one side, he gestured towards them. "Eat anything that Emma makes, okay? Trust me, you'll be doing us a favour." After another nod, he walked off.

Left to his own devices, Reid mostly lingered by the table of food out of habit. He didn't eat anything. Occasionally someone came up to him and introduced themselves. He made what awkward small talk he could, so it wasn't long until he was left on his own again. After a while the amount of people squashed into one house all got a little too much and Reid went exploring. No one noticed, or if they did they didn't care.

The stairs that led upstairs were behind a door in the kitchen. Intrigued by the layout of the house, the place where Luke grew up, Reid followed them. He counted each step, listened to every creak of wood. Luke had probably known where all the creaks were; had known how to avoid them when he snuck down for a drink. At some point he'd probably pushed Noah against the wall and kissed him, knowing his family were on the other side of the door. Luke had told him so much about his life but right now Reid felt like he didn't know anything at all. He knew Luke liked chocolate milkshakes, but not what his favourite colour was. What food he preferred to eat. If he found his immunosuppressants a blessing or a curse. What time he usually got up in the morning, and if he ever watched trashy TV. Who his favourite author was. Favourite poet. If he was ticklish and if so, where. What side of the bed he preferred to sleep on; if he snored.

He was never going to find out if Luke snored.

Just as Reid was really feeling sorry for himself, he opened one of the doors upstairs and found Noah sitting at the end of a bed.

Grasping a photograph in his hand, Noah looked up, eyes red and watering.

Reid couldn't even hate him right now. "Sorry," he said quietly, and began backing out of the room.

"No," Noah wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand, "it's okay. I think I've had enough of being alone. I'm Noah."

Hesitating, Reid considered leaving anyway. He didn't feel like ripping Noah's head off at this particular moment in time but he didn't want to make him feel better, either. Eventually, ridiculously, he found himself wondering what Luke would want him to do. He stepped inside. "Reid."

"Do we know each other?" Noah asked, tilting his head to one side, frowning. "You look familiar."

"We haven't been introduced," Reid evaded. "What're you looking at?"

Smiling down at it briefly, Noah held it out towards him. Taking it, Reid's breath nearly caught in his throat. Unsurprisingly, it was a picture of Luke and Noah and although Reid had been expecting it, he hadn't braced himself for how wonderfully _terrible_ it would be to see Luke again, in any form. He was a little younger. Hair a little longer, a little darker.

But the smile was exactly the same.

Reid handed the photograph back with shaking hands. Noah didn't seem to notice.

Swallowing hard, Reid turned away, jamming his injured hands into his pants pockets. "He must've cared about you a great deal," Reid found himself talking, anything to try and keep his mind at bay.

"Luke always cared too much," Noah replied sadly, "more than he should have. At least until lately."

Interest caught by that last statement, Reid swivelled back around. "Sorry?"

"I, um," embarrassed, Noah looked away. "Not many people know, but...Luke broke up with me. About a week before he went on the trip."

*

Reid could only stare at him, mind spinning off in new, uncontrollable directions, as Noah kept talking.

"I don't know why," Noah began, "but for some reason it's easier talking to someone I don't know about this."

He broke up with Noah.

"Probably because it's not as embarrassing," he admitted.

He finally fucking broke up with Noah.

"I asked him to keep it quiet while I looked for my own place, so no one would try to...coddle me. And he did. Even though he'd broken up with me, he did that for me."

And then he died.

"That was Luke all over, really."

Was the break-up just to get away, spend some time on himself?

"I still can't believe that he's gone."

That was probably what he needed most, what was best for him.

"I figured we'd get back together after a while. We always do."

But maybe he...maybe he wanted to...

"But...it did seem...different, this time. More permanent."

But Luke was dead. Dead, and he wasn't coming back. It was ridiculous even hypothesising.

Reid turned away, storming out of the room. "I have to go." He stumbled down the stairs, slipping a few steps, blindly reaching out along the wall. Banging the door open with his shoulder, he was crossing the few steps to the screen door, then into the porch, pushing open another door and finally, finally, outside.

It was ridiculous even hypothesising, but he couldn't _stop_ hypothesising. He kept walking, away from the house, away from the cars. A new car was just arriving, Meg Snyder at the wheel. Reid didn't bother to even do more than glance at her, heading out past the barn and into the distance.

His eyes stung. Luke had started asserting himself, concentrating on what he actually wanted and even if it was just before he died, he should've been pleased for him, right? Not feel like his insides were being torn apart by missed opportunities, regrets and the not _knowing._ Failing to swallow the huge lump in his throat, Reid tipped his head back and stared up at the stupidly bright sky and tried not be as ridiculously trite as to wonder how the sun could keep shining when Luke was dead - scientifically, he knew exactly why the sun was still shining - but he didn't seem capable of stopping himself.

"My dear boy," a distinctive female voice asked, "are you quite all right?"

Reid spun around to see an older woman, well-dressed - like most of the women in Oakdale - standing behind him. She seemed too elegant to be standing in the middle of a field, but there she was. He had no idea who she was and blinked his eyes, hard, clearing the film of moisture that'd built up.

"I've been up with Lily, but I came out to make a call," she continued, gesturing with the cell phone she held in her right hand, even as she studied him inquisitively, "and I saw you out here, apparently communing with God."

Annoyed at having been caught being so... _emotional_ , Reid's defenses snapped back up. "I'm hardly a boy." It was not one of his best efforts. He was just pleased that he was capable of making any effort at all.

Eyes widening in something that might be recognition, she smiled and nodded slowly. "You must be Reid Oliver." He made a face in confusion and she smiled - smirked, really - even more. "Oh, my grandson has told me _all_ about you."

And suddenly he knew. Lucinda, who loved chocolate milkshakes. Lucinda, who had always accepted Luke for who he was. Lucinda, who had a special relationship with her grandson.

Lucinda, who didn't seem in the least bit upset that Luke was dead.

His brain couldn't comprehend how she could mean so much to Luke and he could apparently mean so little to her. He came to the only logical conclusion that something else had to be going on.

"Lucinda Walsh," she introduced, confirming his suspicions. Seeing the state of his hands, she didn't attempt a handshake.

She was calm, collected and - not completely _un_ emotional, not in the way people could be after receiving tragic news - but normal. Emotionally _average_ , certainly not the reaction of someone who had lost two members of her family, including a particularly beloved grandson.

Illogical as it may have been, Reid found himself clinging to even the vaguest possibility. "You don't think Luke is dead."

She didn't look away, instead lifting her chin. "Do you know how we got official word on Holden and Luke's fate?" Reid shook his head. "Damian received a phone call. I was out of the country when this whole business happened - I only made it back this morning. Lily was so distraught yesterday that she let _Damian_ handle, well," she somehow managed to snort elegantly, "just about everything. By the time I arrived, it was too late. He had already 'received' a phone call telling him that the dental records were a match."

If there was a chance, any chance at all...they had to try. Had to try _something._ He stepped towards her, already intent on forcing his way onto the first flight to anywhere in Kentucky. "But you don't trust him?" Reid sure as hell didn't.

"I trust Damian Grimaldi about as far as I can throw my private jet," she retorted. "Speaking of which..." Lucinda studied him speculatively. "I've spoken to Jack, but there's only so much he can do officially - although he's certainly no fan of Damian's, either," Reid had no idea who Jack was, "and I've been getting nowhere with the ME's Office in Louisville. It appears there are still some people, in this day and age, who are impervious to bribes. Who knew?"

It seemed they were thinking along similar lines. "What's your point?"

"I can't leave Lily alone in Damian's clutches - he's always been able to manipulate her far too easily. But I do need someone in Kentucky as soon as possible," she kept studying him knowingly, "to find out the truth, whatever that may be - even if they are really dead." Pausing, she closed her eyes painfully, as if finally, really, acknowledging the possibility. Straightening her back, she somehow managed to open her eyes with enthusiasm. "But I am not yet going to grieve for something I am not sure of. I need someone I can trust and Luke seems convinced of your strength of character - which is enough to convince me. I need you, Dr Oliver. Someone with a personal investment. And a doctor," Lucinda added, pleased at that piece of information. "An extremely well-respected and well-known doctor."

He should've said that the very idea was ridiculous. What was he supposed to do? Walk into the ME's office and be handed everything he asked for on a silver platter, simply because he happened to be a doctor? Things may have had their own way of working in Oakdale, but back in the real world, you didn't just get everything you wanted purely because you wanted it.

But then he realised something. His...emotional - instead of logical - reaction since hearing about Luke had masked the fact that he was _Reid Oliver_ , and he had come to a conclusion about his life a long time ago:

Reid Oliver always got what he wanted.

Within the hour he was on Lucinda's jet, flying to Louisville.

*

The entire journey - boarding, take-off, descent, landing and taxiing - took just less than an hour.

It was still much too long as far as Reid was concerned. Stupidly, he had convinced himself that now there was a strong possibility that Luke was alive, that for some insane reason Damian had concocted this entire scenario. Luke and Holden came from Oakdale. Of _course_ they were still alive. They'd probably been abducted by aliens and replaced by doppelgangers, and that was who died in the accident.

But he had to try and retain some objectivity. If he found out, after all, that Luke really was dead...to have this ridiculous hope, only for it to be taken away...

Lucinda had told him there would be a car waiting for him under the name Franklin Smith. She didn't disappoint. Fortunately, the ME's office in Louisville wasn't particularly far from the airport, so once they actually managed to get out of the airport itself, the journey there took less than forty minutes - although, ironically, that was about how long it'd taken to fly to Louisville in the first place.

Reid spent most of the car ride drumming the fingers of his right hand against his thigh.

The ME's office was one of several in Kentucky, but Louisville's was the main office where the Chief Medical Examiner was stationed. It was part of a much larger Government Centre that provided many local services - not something that Reid particularly cared about generally, but something he did end up caring about personally after they turned off Barret Avenue and he had to decipher the extremely poor instructions on the outside of the building, listing where the different departments were situated. 

Eventually figuring out where he _thought_ he was supposed to go, he jogged back to the car and told the driver to park up. The driver responded that he'd already been paid not to leave him, on pain of death.

Reid decided he liked Lucinda Walsh even more than he did already.

With an objective to focus on, Reid was able to somewhat put his emotions aside. Inside it was a lot less confusing than outside. It still took several minutes to reach the ME's office - of course, it was located in the furthest part of the building. Finally, after a trip in an elevator - always fun - following the occasional sign, and a lot of walking, Reid pulled open a glass door and stepped into his destination.

Reid eyed the receptionist, or whatever the hell she was, sitting at the main desk, searching for a weakness. She appeared professional enough - appropriate hair and clothing. As Reid approached, though, he caught a picture of a dog in a photo frame. Immediately reaching a conclusion about the type of person she was, Reid decided to attempt a tactic he'd learned from both Barbara and Katie. He wasn't usually a believer in manipulating people - for Reid, the truth almost always won out, no matter how blunt. But this time, he had a feeling manipulation would be more useful.

He spun a great, emotional tale about how he'd come all the way from Oakdale personally, to see for himself the absolute proof that Luke and Holden were dead. They were so close, he said; Holden like a father and Luke the best friend a man could ever had. He showed her his ID when she appeared doubtful, then suggested she search for him on the internet.

He could see hers eyes widening unintentionally as she scrolled past his accomplishments and awards and as it turned out, just being Reid Oliver really did get you everything you want.

Glancing around furtively, she picked up the phone from her desk. "Just give me a minute," she said quietly, dialling someone on the phone. A few moments later, she began speaking. "Hey, Frank. It's Candice. I have a Dr Reid Oliver here who needs to personally see the file on..." Pausing, she covered up the phone with her hand and addressed Reid. "What was the name again?"

"Snyder."

She removed her hand. "On the Snyder's. Yeah, yeah," she nodded. "That's right. Great. Thanks a lot," Candice replied, lowering her voice with an air of flirtation. Hanging up the phone, she smiled up at Reid. "Have a seat. Someone will be here to help you shortly."

"Thank you so much," Reid replied emotionally, clutching his hands together in front of his chest, still in character. Realising she was now staring at his hands, he quickly lowered them and turned away.

The last thing he wanted to do was sit anymore, but Reid forced himself to sit down in one of the surprisingly comfortable chairs clustered around a small table. There might be a chance. There might actually be a chance...

"Dr Oliver?"

Blinking, Reid looked up and saw a heavy set man in a lab coat looking down at him. He was holding a file folder in his left hand.

Reid immediately got to his feet. "Thank you for seeing me."

"Not at all," Frank assured him. "Let's walk." Frank led him down a corridor and into a room a few doors down. Sitting on the far side of the desk in the sparsely decorated office - a potted plant in the corner was the sole decoration - Frank gestured towards the other side, gesturing for Reid to take a seat.

Reid sat. Reid sat on the edge of the chair, leaning towards the desk.

Frank cleared his throat. "The physical evidence, of course, has been handed over to the police."

"Of course," Reid nodded quickly, eyes fixed on the file folder now lying on the desk.

Flicking open the folder, Frank slid a dental x-ray towards him. "Holden Snyder," he said quietly. "Taken after his...remains were brought to us." Reid stared at it. "This one," Frank continued, sliding another x-ray across the table, "was what we received from his dental office. There's some understandable...damage on the former," Frank explained awkwardly, "but all the major indicators match."

Holding himself very, very still - if he didn't he might fly apart - Reid forced the words out. "And Luke?" The hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end. Moving Holden's x-rays to one side, Frank slid two more towards Reid.

"Before," he said quietly, indicating one, "and after."

They were definitely taken from the same man.

Reid smiled.

But it wasn't Luke. It wasn't _Luke_.

He was still alive.

*

Reid was on his phone as soon as he stepped out of the ME's office.

Lucinda picked up within moments.

"Dr Oliver? You have news?"

"You could say that," he announced smugly, pleased with himself. "I don't know whose dental x-rays I just looked at, but they sure as hell weren't Luke's."

"You're absolutely certain?" she asked, as Reid strode quickly along the corridor.

"One hundred per cent," he responded, spotting the elevator in the distance. "Not only were several major indicators missing, the teeth were all wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"Luke has those...weird-ass, stubby little teeth. This guy had normal teeth." Reid had seen Luke's up-close when they trapped in that Godforsaken elevator, playing chess.

Lucinda was actually silent for a few moments. "This is the evidence you're presenting me with? How am I supposed to present this to the police? 'By the way, Detective, Dr Oliver said it couldn't _possibly_ be Luke because the x-rays were of a man who didn't have stubby little teeth'?"

"I don't care what the hell you say," Reid retorted, pressing the button for the elevator calmly. "But I'm telling you - this guy had a lot more tooth above the gum line than Luke does. It was absolutely not Luke." Pausing, he considered her response a few moments ago. "I thought you weren't impressed with the police, anyway."

"They can still have their uses," she pointed out. "But if this is true...someone must have swapped the x-rays that came from Oakdale, after the fact. And given that we haven't heard from them-"

"Someone probably has them," Reid nodded, having already faced the same conclusion. As relieved as he was at finding out the body wasn't Luke's, he was still missing and probably in danger.

"I'm more convinced than ever that Damian is behind this," Lucinda growled as Reid stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. "Whether he orchestrated the whole thing or took advantage of the situation I don't know, but either way we need evidence! Why must the criminal justice system be so very _challenging_?"

In this case, Reid absolutely agreed with her. The doors pinged open and he walked out, heading towards the exit. "What do you want me to do next?" For once, Reid was more than happy to just follow instructions. Lucinda had access to the kind of money and resources that even he could barely dream of. He'd happily use any and all of them to find Luke.

"I think it's probably best if-oh, excuse me a moment, Reid. I have another call coming in."

Reid couldn't help but notice the use of his first name. Well, he _had_ just unofficially proven that her grandson was alive. For the first time he was actually _glad_ that Luke came from a crazy ass place like Oakdale - as far as Reid was concerned, Oakdale was so strange and bizarre, that you didn't even to have be in the general vicinity to suffer its effects. Even in a different state, Luke and Holden were so entrenched in Oakdale that it's utter strangeness was the only way they'd survived whatever ordeal they'd be through so far.

"Reid," Lucinda's voice was suddenly back, urgent, "University of Louisville Hospital. This instant."

Goosebumps breaking out across his skin, Reid broke out into a run, pushing through the exit and running straight to the car. "What is it?" He knew the University Hospital - it had one of the best stroke centres in the country, and he'd been there on a consult.

"Holden and Luke were admitted there within the past half an hour." Reid's heart squeezed painfully. Luke was alive, he even knew where Luke was, but he'd been admitted to hospital. It didn't matter. Whatever was wrong, Reid would fix it. "Which means that, more than likely, Damian didn't have them after all and has been playing it by ear, probably searching for them all this time. He's almost as well-connected as I am. If I know about it-"

"His people know about it, too."

"And, given the cover-up so far, they'll do everything they can to make sure Luke and Holden vanish without a trace and that there'll be no evidence they were ever there."

The driver had obviously seen Reid running out of the building and screeched up alongside him with style. Diving into the back, yanking the door shut behind up, Reid yelled out his destination. "University Hospital!"

The driver put his foot down, throwing Reid around in the back. "That's less than fifteen minutes away," he announced, "and I suggest you put your seat belt on, Mr Smith."

Having no intention of getting killed before he found Luke, Reid did just that. "Drive as fast as you can without getting us arrested," he instructed, then brought the phone back up to his ear. "Lucinda?"

"Still here," she confirmed. "I've just dispatched a private security firm to the hospital - I've used them before, they're trustworthy - but you'll probably still get there before them. I'm counting on you, Reid."

Reid really didn't need the extra pressure. "Lady, I'm already nuts about your grandson. I'm already gonna end up breaking I don't know how many laws today. I really don't need you trying to persuade me to do anything. Just call if you hear something new."

"I'll get you an excellent lawyer," she promised, and hung up.

Although this was set to be the shortest journey he'd taken since boarding Lucinda's jet, the time passed interminably slowly. Reid felt like he was coming out of his skin. Luke was _alive_ but, more than likely, someone was after him - whether it was actually Damian or not. Reid tried to pass the time by contemplating where Luke actually would be in the hospital when he arrived. Assuming no immediate life-threatening injuries - and Reid was running with that theory; he had to after the past two days - he could well still be somewhere in the ER or even still in triage if the hospital was particularly busy. Reid closed his eyes, mentally visualising what he could of the hospital. He'd spent most of his time in the stroke centre, of course, but he had gone over the main hospital building once or twice. Knowing exactly what route he was going to take in advance would speed up his progress considerably.

When they finally turned into the hospital, Reid shifted closer to side of the car, hand already on the door release. The driver stopped as close as he could without drawing unwanted attention, and then Reid opened the door and broke into a run. He ran straight through the ER entrance, annoyed when he had to slow to a walk due to the amount of people inside. Moving from place to place, panting for breath, his eyes were constantly scanning the area. Seeing no sign of Luke, Reid walked through a door, into the next section with all the confidence of someone who belonged there. Having the actual credentials and arrogant confidence of a certain type of doctor, no one even doubted his presence.

He was all set to literally start tearing privacy curtains aside to see who was in each ER bed, when-

"Dr _Oliver?_ "

Mentally cursing his bad luck, Reid turned on his heel to see a young, female doctor staring at him in shock. She seemed vaguely familiar and it took Reid a few moments to place her. He couldn't remember her name but she'd been there last time - the irritating newbie who hung around Reid like a particularly bloodthirsty and annoying gnat. "I've been following your career since you left us. I didn't know you were coming back," she said, obviously pleased now. "Are you here to help another patient?"

Maybe this wasn't such bad luck after all. Maybe he could use this to his advantage. "Yes. That's exactly it, Dr..."

"Cohen."

"Yes, yes, right, exactly," he nodded. "In fact, I'm looking for a patient who should be here right now. Could you possibly help me?" It was worth being polite, if it got him the information sooner.

Two frantic minutes later - at least inside his head - Reid was pulling a curtain back. A brown-haired man stared back at him from the bed.

It wasn't Luke. Reid could only hope...

"Holden Snyder?"

"That's right," he responded.

Reid stepped closer instinctively. "Where's Luke?" His fingers flexed.

"He just..." Pausing, Holden suddenly eyed him dubiously. "Who are you?"

Reid opened his mouth to answer but Cohen was suddenly right there, next to him. "Oh, this is Dr Reid Oliver," she announced breathlessly, "one of the best neurosurgeon's in the country."

"The world," he corrected automatically.

Holden's eyes widened. " _You're_ Reid Oliver?" he asked, obviously recognising the name and just as obviously surprised that he was standing in front of him.

"Yes, we all know my name," Reid spat out heatedly, "where's _Luke?_ "

"They decided he didn't need a bed," Holden explained, "so he's been here with me. He just went to find a phone-"

Reid spun towards Cohen. "Nearest public phone?"

She pointed to the right. "That way."

"Don't leave that man alone," Reid instructed then took off running, barging through a set of double doors. It didn't take him long to find the small bank of phones. Most of them were in use, but Luke wasn't one of the people using them. Frustrated, hands aching, Reid spun around on the spot, trying to find a familiar blond head of hair.

He didn't see Luke's stupid hair. But he caught a glimpse of sudden, strange movement and when he focused, he realised it was someone's feet, kicking out as if fighting someone, being dragged through a doorway.

_No._

"Someone call security!" Reid bellowed, breaking into a sprint that had to beat anything he'd done so far today. Reaching the doorway, he slid as he turned, banging the door open. And it _was_ Luke being dragged into the stairwell, and although the man who had him was bigger, stronger, and had a hand over Luke's mouth, Luke was fighting with everything he had, twisting and contorting his body as much as possible to be as inconvenient a kidnap victim as possible.

The kidnapper and Luke had both looked up when the door banged open; both now staring at him in surprise for entirely different reasons. Apparently deciding that Luke wasn't worth getting caught over, the kidnapper suddenly released him and shoved him aside, clearly intent on getting away.

Reid wasn't about to let that happen. Before the guy could move more than a foot, Reid punched him square in the face with everything his grandfather had taught him, every emotion he'd felt over the past two days, everything he _was_. The guy staggered back, swaying on his feet too close to the stairs leading down behind him. Reid considered letting him fall but at the last second, as the guy started to go down, Reid tugged him forward and let him land on the linoleum floor instead.

Staring down at him, at the man who had almost succeeded in _taking Luke_ , Reid panted heavily, hands clenched into fists, fighting the absurd impulse to kick him in the head.

_Mindless violence makes you look like an idiot._

"Reid?"

Luke. Luke was there. Luke was _alive._

He was still on the floor where he'd been thrown, staring up at Reid like he couldn't believe he was there.

Reid knew exactly how he felt.

Tumbling to his knees, Reid reached his hands out to touch Luke's face. "Are you all right?" he rasped, fingers carefully turning his head, looking for injury.

Luke kept staring at him with wide eyes. "What are you _doing_ here?"

"Are you _all right?_ " Reid repeated emotionally, needing an answer. There was a bruise on the left side of Luke's face that looked like it'd been there a while. He was dirty, covered in dust and obviously in need of a good night's sleep.

Smiling tenderly, Luke's hands came up, clutching at Reid's wrists. "Nothing serious." His own hands sliding up to touch Reid's, Luke frowned when he finally noticed something. Drawing his head back, he kept his hands on Reid's and looked down at them. "Your hands... _Reid_...what _happened?_ "

"Thought you were dead," Reid shrugged, feeling his chest tighten at the memory as Luke's incredible eyes widened again. "Turns out I have emotions after all."

*

The moment was interrupted when hospital security finally barged into the stairwell, hands resting on holsters. There were two of them and when they saw the still form lying of the floor they immediately turned to Luke and Reid menacingly, grips on their holsters tightening.

Reid rolled his eyes. Idiocy really was universal. "Oh, you have to be kidding me. _I_ am a doctor, _that_ ," Reid gestured towards the guy on the floor, who was slowly starting to stir, "is your kidnapper and _this_ ," he gestured towards Luke, "is the patient he tried to kidnap. Congratulations," Reid announced sarcastically as he looked up at them, unimpressed, "I did your job for you. Now, are you gonna cuff him before he just gets up and walks away? Or are you expecting me to do that for you, too?"

Even as hospital 'security' started actually dealing with the kidnapper, Luke was sliding towards Reid; resting his head on Reid's shoulder, throwing an arm around him and chuckling quietly.

Reid wasn't stupid enough to pull away from any form of physical contact with Luke, but he was somewhat surprised by it. "What are you doing?" he tried to ask dubiously as he looked down at Luke's head, but he was so relieved Luke was there to act dubiously towards at all that he was pretty sure it came out a lot more tenderly.

The arm around him tightened its hold. "I'm just really glad you're here," Luke breathed out, leaning against him heavily.

Supporting his weight, Reid found himself putting an arm around Luke and squeezing back in return.

The asshole who'd tried to take Luke was now apparently awake enough to move, as he was hoisted to his feet by security (Reid took a particular feeling of satisfaction at the amount of blood streaming from the guy's nose). He was also apparently awake enough to realise the amount of trouble he was in, because about two seconds after he was upright he blurted out in a heavily accented voice,

"Damian Grimaldi made me do it! That's how it works, right? I tell you information, I get treated well? I'm a great fan of the American justice system."

And just like that, Luke's good mood was gone. Body tensing, he pulled away from Reid, getting to his feet and apparently having no problem at all getting right up in the face of the large, intimidating man who'd just tried to kidnap him. Like Reid needed another aspect of Luke to go nuts about.

"Are you telling me Damian did this? My own _father?_ "

The security guards standing behind the man shared a look that basically said 'wow, is _his_ life screwed up'.

Reid pushed himself to his feet, standing behind Luke and trying not to wince from the pain developing in his hand. "He's from Oakdale. In Illinois," Reid explained, "this kind of crap happens all the time."

"Reid!" Luke hushed, without even turning around.

"Right, not helping."

Luke folded his arms across his chest. "Answer the question."

"Like you said," the man spoke urgently, "I work for Damian Grimaldi. We were told to take you and the older man with you. Make sure all sign of you disappeared."

We. _We._

There was more than one of them. He'd left Cohen with Holden, but...

Apparently having the same thought at the same time, Luke and Reid shared a look and then bolted out of the stairwell and into the corridor, racing back towards Holden's bed.

"Dad!" Luke screamed, pounding ahead of Reid - Cohen was nowhere to be seen, which only proved to Reid how flakey she was and that he'd been right about her all along - and when Luke yanked open the curtain and saw a huge man in a suit leaning over Holden, he didn't hesitate in diving towards him, tackling him to the ground. Though much bigger than Luke, the man hadn't been expecting the attack and toppled down easily, taking a medical trolley with him. Seconds later, however, he'd recovered his equilibrium and had no trouble at all in turning Luke's erratic attack against him, pining Luke to the floor.

Reid charged towards them, intent on kicking this guy's ass as well as he had the previous one - although he had no idea how, this one actually seemed to have some kind of training - when the man suddenly let go of Luke and stood up quickly, backing away. Luke quickly pushed himself up to his feet and ran the few steps back to Holden's bed, standing there defensively.

"That won't be necessary, Dr Oliver," the man explained, barely out of breath, producing a business card. Security were there by now, next to Reid with their guns drawn - which was kind of cool, Reid had to admit, but that was something he'd have to reflect on in more detail later.

Carefully reaching out, eyes constantly flicking from the guy's face to his hand and back again, Reid then snatched the card out of his grasp and read the printed text.

_T.P.S. Security_  
Private Security Solutions  
555-234-8965 

"Ms Walsh sent me," he explained.

Well, that explained _that_. Passing the card back, he glanced over at Luke - still standing protectively in front of his father - and nodded. "Lucinda said she was sending someone."

Relaxing his body, Luke then proceeded to produce an embarrassed expression. "I, uh...sorry," he apologised awkwardly, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck as security started lowering their guns.

The man didn't seem offended. "You were protecting your father, Mr Snyder. I'd have done the same in your position."

Reid was impressed despite himself, but something didn't fit right. "There's only one of you?"

"That you're aware of," he replied meaningfully, and Reid was suddenly suspicious of the janitor who'd been circling the area for the last few minutes, watching carefully.

Reid loved Lucinda Walsh. People with more money than God really could do anything.

"Could someone," Holden began from his bed, "explain to me just what the hell is going on?"

Holstering his gun, one of the security guards strode up to his bed. "You're not the only one who needs an explanation, sir."

Hopefully, all of them would find out exactly what had been happening over the past few days.

But first, Reid needed to make a phone call.

*

"Lucinda Walsh-"

"I have them."

"They're safe? Uninjured?"

"For the most part, but listen - we have proof, a confession that Damian was involved."

"Excellent! Just as I suspected. And he just started making noises about needing to leave to deal with a problem that'd 'come up' at work."

"Yeah, and I know exactly what that problem is. There was a second man we haven't found yet - Damian must've heard from him. You can't let him leave; he'll run."

"Not to worry, Dr Oliver. I have no _intention_ of letting Damian get away with anything. Excuse me for a moment.

...Damian? Oh, good, I'm glad I caught you before you left. I just wanted to say-

_*CRASH*_

_*THUMP*_

...well, that was a moment twenty years in the making. That was quite satisfying, let me tell you. Emma needed a new cooking pot, anyway - hers are _terribly_ old-fashioned."

*

After Reid passed on the information that Damian was in Lucinda's 'custody', that she was contacting the local police and that she'd confirmed that T.P.S. Security was indeed who'd she'd contacted to help, they sat down and figured out between them just what the hell had gone on. The police - who had arrived by then - of course wanted to know every detail.

Luke and Holden had got much of the way through their drive to Kentucky, and were actually in Kentucky itself when they were effectively car-jacked. Being the ridiculously naïve, good-hearted souls that they were, they'd stopped in the middle of nowhere to pick up a couple of hitchhikers (it was at this point that Reid interjected, wondering how it could be possible that they'd survived this long without getting themselves killed by a creepy guy wearing a hockey mask. Luke then asked him when someone had told Reid about what'd happened to his Great Uncle John. Reid wasn't entirely sure he was joking). Apparently father and son - although if that was actually true or not was anyone's guess until the DNA results came back - the father had squeezed in up front with Luke and Holden, and the son had made the best of it on the truck bed.

They'd barely been in the truck two minutes before the father pulled out a gun, ordering them to hand over their wallets and cell phones - then pull over and get out of the truck. Once out of the truck the son had joined them with his own gun. Holden and Luke had put up a fight and in the ensuing scuffle, Luke got punched around the face, Holden badly sprained his left ankle and received a painful punch to the kidneys (at this point, Reid announced them both utter imbeciles for _fighting the men who had guns._ Luke pointed out Reid's own heroics in the stairwell. Reid promptly shut up).

Still in the middle of nowhere, with no phones, an injured Holden and only a vague idea of which direction they should be heading in to get help fastest, progress was extremely slow going. The drive was a tradition they shared every year but they both preferred the longer scenic route, far from any highways or anything much of any use.

Luke refused to leave his father alone, despite Holden urging him to (by this stage, Reid didn't even have to say anything. His expression spoke a thousand words) and the road was so quiet that it was nearly three days until someone actually stopped - they weren't the first car that passed, but they were the first car that passed that apparently gave a damn about another human being.

Reid suddenly had a new perspective on picking up hitchhikers.

Their rescuers had been an elderly couple, horrified at their situation but without possession of a cell phone. They insisted on driving them all the way to the hospital personally; the University Hospital specifically because the old man, Robert, had been treated there following a stroke and was apparently a big fan of the hospital in general. Luke had tried to convince them to drop them off at a closer hospital more than once, but they wouldn't hear of even stopping for as much as pee break before they got to University Hospital ("They were old! You could've taken them!" "It's not like we were about to die from our injuries - and they gave us food and water, so Dad perked right back up. They were so _nice_ , Reid! It would've been rude!" "Oh my God, I ruined my hands for an idiot.")

Once they were dropped off at the hospital, they were both quickly treated for dehydration - it seemed Emma insisted on all the adults in the family memorising their insurance details, and no one back in Oakdale had yet gone about the business of reporting them dead to their insurance company. After that, it was decided Luke didn't need a bed and they were more concerned about possible damage to Holden's kidneys than the ankle, so he was currently waiting to undergo tests. Luke had refused to leave his Dad's side through all of it, and it was only once Holden was comfortably situated that he left to call home, intending to call collect.

He never made it to the phone.

They knew nothing about how the truck went over the cliff; about Damian taking advantage of the situation after the crash was reported, until the guy in the stairwell mentioned his name.

The police seemed just as shocked by the story as Reid felt, but decided it was so ridiculous that it couldn't possible be a lie. "In fact," Luke pointed out, "I'm pretty sure Robert and Marge are still sitting in the waiting area. They'll corroborate everything we said about them." He paused. "Only make sure Marge's hearing aid is in properly."

Eventually, the police were convinced that Luke and Holden were nothing more than the victims of bad luck.

"We'll have to talk to the Oakdale PD," Officer Fry told them, "and we'll need official statements once your dad is finished here. Other than that...welcome back to life, Mr Snyder."

After Holden was taken away for tests, Luke took the opportunity to freshen up by scrubbing his face in a sink in the public bathroom and chewing on a piece of gum the security guy gave him. He then made an emotional phone call.

"Mom...we're fine. We're _fine._ Dad's just getting some tests done to be safe, but he's okay. A little banged up, but...I know. I can't believe Damian did this, either. I...I really believed that he'd changed. I love you, too, I love you _so_ much. Yes, of course I'll speak to Natalie!"

Reid made his own phone call.

"How's Damian?"

"Currently in the custody of the Oakdale Police Department. I imagine he has quite the headache."

"You're a hell of a woman, Lucinda."

"I could say the same about you, Reid Oliver."

"...thank you. I think."

"How are things your end? Do you think you'll make it home tonight?"

"We'll probably have to stay overnight. Who knew kidnapping attempts and coming back from the dead came with so much paperwork?"

"Life can be _so_ tedious. I imagine Lily will probably want to fly in and join you."

"Understandable. The police were okay, if confused. Clearly things aren't as crazy in Kentucky as they are in Illinois. Holden's in for tests, but it looks good. Luke's fine."

"And you?"

"Sorry?"

"Well, you've accomplished everything you set out to achieve, yes? Luke is safe, Holden is safe, Damian's been foiled, the police have been informed. You can _breathe_ now. What next?"

Hanging up, Reid turned away from the pay phone. They'd moved to the waiting room in Renal Services when Holden had been taken for tests and Reid headed towards it now. Luke's new shadow from the private security firm had apparently scared everyone else out of the waiting room, because when Reid arrived he was standing outside and Luke was the only person inside. Reid didn't slow down, didn't stop, just opened the door, stepped inside and kept walking.

Luke had been perching on the edge of chair, bouncing up to his feet when Reid walked in. "Hey, so I was thinking," Luke told him, "we should really get someone to look at your hand-"

But Reid just kept walking, all will and intent, hands coming up to cup Luke's face, guiding him back against the nearest available wall and pressing his lips firmly against Luke's.

_Breathe._

*

It didn't last long, initially, but then Reid had more than one purpose for kissing Luke. First and most obviously, Luke was _Luke_ and he was standing there alive in all his dirty, bruised, exhausted, bedraggled glory.

Secondly, and almost as importantly, Reid was making a mark, a statement of intent. This is what he wanted and it was entirely Luke's call where it went from here. If it went anywhere from here. Reid was really, really hoping it was going somewhere from here.

After the few seconds of the kiss Reid pulled back, hands still touching Luke's face. Luke was staring at him with wide, surprised eyes, but after a few moments his gaze softened, a hand coming up to touch the side of Reid's neck, Luke's thumb slowly rubbing over the skin there. Eventually, as he held Reid's gaze he furrowed his brow and tipped his head to one side, as if asking a silent question.

Reid wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to be answering. That he knew that Noah was history? That he knew about Luke's crazy life and equally crazy family and still wanted Luke anyway? That he wanted this, whatever the hell this was?

Reid nodded anyway, because the answer was yes. To all of it. After the last two days, it couldn't be anything else.

A tiny, barely perceptible smile turned Luke's lips upward - and then his gaze fell to Reid's mouth. Swallowing, briefly licking his lips, Luke leaned in and pressed his mouth against Reid's. It was better this time, being two-sided, then when Luke pulled away only to produce a broken gasp and dive right back in, it got a whole lot better.

Kissing Luke was everything and nothing like Reid expected - and that was just about the moment his brain fused out and stopped producing anything coherent.

Luke turned his head, opening his mouth and deepening the kiss. Reid kissed him back fiercely - Luke was there and so very, very alive - and Luke matched him inch for inch, his hands sliding from Reid's neck up into his hair, fingers dragging across his scalp. Reid liked that a _lot_ , his right hand instinctively coming down to wedge itself between the wall and Luke's ass.

Breaking the kiss and pushing away from the wall, Luke gasped as he stumbled away. Reid actually found his lips leading his body, automatically turning around to locate Luke's.

"This is crazy!" Luke exclaimed, face flushed, somehow still looking unbelievably sexy even though he was flailing an arm around.

"You _drive_ me crazy," Reid growled, managing to grab the end of the flailing arm and tugging Luke back towards him, hard. Luke went all too willingly, but as their bodies collided together he grabbed Reid's upper arms and spun them around until Reid was the one being pushed roughly against the wall.

Reid had no problem with that.

Something thudded to the ground.

Reid had no problem with that, either. In fact, Reid had no problem with anything at all other than the fact that no matter how hard, how deep they kissed, it still wasn't enough _Luke_.

Luke groaned into an open-mouthed kiss, his arms winding around Reid's body and clutching at his back. Reid could do nothing but hold on himself, first grabbing on to Luke's sides, then his back. Just as Reid was about to do something truly ridiculous, like just rubbing himself all over him, Luke broke the kiss again.

Fortunately, he didn't go far.

"Drive you crazy, huh?" he asked breathlessly, clearly pleased with himself before leaning back in for another powerful kiss.

Reid yanked his head back. "Like you didn't know."

"I may have had my suspicions," he confirmed cheekily, smiling into the next kiss.

Naturally, as sappy as he'd been over Luke lately, Reid found himself smiling back into the kiss whether he wanted to or not. Although he was beginning to think that maybe he wanted to.

"God," Luke moaned, between another kiss. And another. And another, his hands all over Reid. "I just kind of want to...climb all over you. Is that weird?"

Jesus _Christ._ "If that's weird," Reid replied heatedly, sneaking another brief kiss, "I don't want to be normal."

"Normal's overrated," Luke agreed quickly, stealing another kiss.

"Practically sedate," Reid concurred as they shared another, deeper kiss.

"Boring." This kiss was deeper still and Reid was starting to lose track of what they were even talking about.

"Less talking," he urged, mouthing Luke's neck, "More kissing." Finding a particularly delicious-looking spot, he sucked, hard.

He'd apparently struck gold because Luke let out a loud, lengthy groan, his hands falling to Reid's ass, and the prominent erection Reid had been feeling pressed up against him for the last thirty seconds or so was suddenly even more prominent.

"Ohmygod," Luke gasped, hands scrabbling at every piece of Reid he could find. "Oh my _God_."

"That's my name," Reid panted, and Jesus, if they ever actually had sex, Luke was going to kill him, "don't wear it out."

Reid had no problem with that, either.

There was a brief chuckle at the lame joke - Reid could hardly be expected to produce his best work under these conditions - a flash of amusement, probably some consideration of a smart comeback, but then their lips were coming together again and everything was suddenly very, very serious. It wasn't funny anymore. It was _them_ and they were _here_ and they were _together_ and this was bigger than anything he'd ever experienced.

"Well, I see you two didn't waste any time."

It was Luke who wrenched away, Reid's mouth left pitifully still trying to grab for purchase. Dazed, it took him a few moments to realise Holden was in a wheelchair in the doorway. The nurse who'd obviously been pushing it was stationed just behind him, looking as dazed as Reid felt.

Luke had already flown to the other side of the small room, body turned awkwardly away in a failed attempt to hide his obvious boner from his father. "Dad! Hi!"

On the upside, Holden just sat there looking amused.

Reid could imagine that under any normal circumstance, Luke would be rushing over towards his father, asking how he was and probably giving him a hug. He could totally understand why Luke wasn't doing that right now - even if he found the whole thing profoundly entertaining. He had to, because although he wasn't ashamed, getting caught by a guy's dad was actually something he'd never experienced before. In fact, he'd never really 'met the parents' at all. Although he and Holden had briefly been introduced, they didn't know each other at all.

He was sure his own obvious erection didn't make things any less awkward.

"So, what's the news?" Luke asked, still turned slightly away.

"My kidneys are in perfect working order."

"That's great!" Luke enthused. "What about your ankle?"

"I'm just going to have to keep it strapped most of the time and rest it," Holden explained, which had been what Reid had expected. "I may need more help than usual on the farm."

"You don't even have to ask, Dad," Luke rebuked, like Holden was an idiot for even needing to suggest it. "In fact, I'll move back to the farm for a while. You know Grandma will be making you stay there anyway so she can fuss over you."

"That's true enough," Holden conceded, "Momma does have her protective side. Thanks, Luke - I appreciate it. I just have some paperwork to sign and then what do you boys say we get out of here? But first, you might want to pick up that picture you knocked off the wall."

Luke flushed in embarrassment. Reid balked mentally at being called a boy. But then Luke's Dad had just caught them humping against the wall and hadn't garrotted Reid on sight, so he decided to let it go.

*

By the time they actually left the hospital, it was decided they'd have to give their official statements to the police the next day. Lucinda had booked them into the nearest high-end hotel as possible. A limousine picked them up from the hospital - to accommodate Holden's ankle - and despite the great enthusiasm Luke had shown in the waiting room, once spread out in the comfortable seats in the limo, he - and his father - started fading fast.

Reid wasn't really surprised. They'd barely slept for three days. Luke had no doubt been worried and scared about his dad the entire time, as well as constantly supporting his weight. It could only be adrenalin and emotion that'd got him through the day so far.

When Luke started dozing against him, Reid told himself that it really wasn't cute. Jim, the security guy - a car from the security firm was following them, too - apparently thought differently, for once breaking the apparently implacable façade on his face, scrunching up his nose from where he was sitting opposite them like Reid was cuddling an adorable fluffy bunny, instead of a man.

Not that was Reid was cuddling. Luke just happened to be leaning against him, and Reid had an arm around him purely to make sure he didn't slide down.

Check-in was a painless procedure. Lucinda had obviously informed the hotel of some of the detail of their day, because no one asked for their non-existent bags, a wheelchair was waiting for Holden and they didn't even have to sign anything, simply being escorted up to their suite.

The trip in the elevator only freaked him out a little, but Luke smiled fondly at him and reached over to grab his hand. Reid squeezed it back.

They staff were amazingly discrete, disappearing almost as soon as the group were in their suite. Reid would've expected someone to show them around the rooms, but was thankful he didn't have to put up with that fake pleasantry - he could find his own way around well enough. Jim had stationed himself just outside the locked door, and Reid had to admit he found the idea comforting. He didn't actually think anything else would happen, but just in case that second guy of Damian's turned up somehow, he liked the idea of Jim being there.

There was plenty of room for Holden to use the provided wheelchair and Luke disappeared into the room Holden had chosen as his for the night, probably seeing if his dad needed anything.

As for Reid, he didn't know what to do with himself. He was exhausted, physically and emotionally, but he didn't want to move. He could use a good shower, but that'd mean moving, too. Finding a bottle of champagne resting in a metal ice bucket, Reid located a small towel and made himself an ice pack.

Flopping down onto the expensively embroidered sofa, he carefully pressed the ice pack to his right hand, hissing.

Luke was _alive._

Reid didn't know how long he stayed that way, but when he heard a noise he lifted his head to see Holden sitting in his wheelchair a few feet away, staring at him.

"Thank you," Holden began, "for what you did for us today."

Reid shrugged automatically. "It wasn't-"

"No, it _was_ , Reid. It was." Pausing, he met Reid's gaze firmly. "You know, when Luke told me during our drive here that he was worried about starting a relationship with someone else so soon after Noah, I told him he was right to be concerned." Reid felt a ridiculous thud right about where his heart was meant to be. "I think we both might've been wrong," Holden admitted, a small, knowing smile tugging at his lips. "In my experience it's usually a good idea to wait - but life isn't worth living unless you take some chances, and something tells me you two can work anything out. But for future reference," he continued, amused, "you might wanna keep the physical side of things behind closed doors."

Reid literally couldn't keep his mouth from flying open. "It's not my fault your son's a sex animal."

Holden just smiled and began the arduous process of turning himself around, not asking for and clearly not wanting help. It wasn't until he finally started wheeling himself away that he spoke again. "You think he was like that with Noah?"

Still on the sofa, alone again, Reid considered his options. He'd told himself before that he didn't want the chance; that it had to be all or nothing. But when he'd kissed Luke today he'd immediately made that leap because while Luke was alive there was simply no alternative.

It was terrifying.

Reid stood up.

He dumped what was left of the ice back in the ice bucket and tossed the towel onto the side.

The room Luke had moved to was lit only by a lamp situated in the corner. Luke was lying under the covers in the middle of the bed, apparently sleeping and apparently naked. Standing in the doorway, Reid could do nothing but stand there, hold the door open and stare at him.

Sometime later, he urged his feet forward, crossing the plush carpet until he was sitting gently on the edge of the bed. Luke's head was pointing towards that side of the bed and Reid's hand reached out towards it of its own accord until his shaking fingers were in Luke's hair, his stupid, _stupid_ -

"Reid?" Stirring on the bed, yawning, Luke tipped his head back and rubbed at his eyes. Pulling his hands away, his body quickly tensed and his eyes widened as he looked at Reid. Suddenly sitting up, he placed a hand on Reid's arm. "Are you okay?"

Finally noticing and realising what had Luke so worried, Reid carefully blinked his glassy eyes dry. He opened his mouth to make some snappy retort, a quick-witted remark. Something very Reid Oliveresque. "Not really," came out instead.

Making a sad face, Luke immediately set about stripping Reid of his clothes. After the past few days they'd had there was nothing sexual about it at all, despite the fact they both ended up naked in the same bed.

"I haven't showered yet," Luke warned tiredly as Reid climbed in with him, "I just couldn't wait to sleep anymore-"

"You could smell like a skunk right now and I wouldn't give a damn," Reid replied bluntly, collapsing into the bed next to him and pulling the covers up. They moved towards each other automatically and it was a little awkward at first, but they soon figured out where it was best to have whose arms where. In the end it was Reid with his head on Luke's shoulder, and Reid's brain just couldn't process it.

Twelve hours ago, Luke had been dead.

Reid fought the urge to clutch at Luke's body. "I spent all of last night thinking you were dead," Reid told him, voice rough.

Luke's arm tightened around him. "Reid-"

"I beat my hands to a pulp."

"Reid..."

"This is _your_ fault. If you _ever_ do that to me again, I will kick your ass from here to Timbuktu. Are we clear about this, Mr Snyder?"

Luke's voice was suspiciously wobbly when he replied. "Yes, Dr Oliver."

Swallowing hard, Reid nodded. "Good. Now get some sleep." Closing his eyes, he settled in for the night, but a few moments later it felt suspiciously like Luke was kissing him on the forehead.

Reid decided to let him get away with it. Just this once.

*

His first night sharing a bed with Luke didn't go quite the way Reid expected for a number of reasons - they were both completely exhausted, there was no kissing or groping of any kind despite the fact they were naked, and there was a guy standing guard outside their suite ready to protect them from any and all intruders.

Mostly, though, it was the doorbell that sounded less than two hours after he and Luke had collapsed into bed.

A habitual light sleeper due to his choice of career, Reid was up and out of bed within seconds. Luke remained out cold in bed, in a completely unsurprising - and no doubt needed - deep sleep.

The lamp in the corner was still on, so Reid used its light to locate one of the hotel-provided fluffy, luxurious bath robes. Tugging it on and fastening the belt, Reid suddenly understood why people stole them. If heaven actually existed - which Reid had long been sceptical of - it no doubt existed in the form of this bathrobe.

Once leaving the bedroom and crossing the suite, Reid peered through the security peephole. Jim was standing on the other side but Reid wasn't taking anything at face value. Being a high-end hotel it had high-end security features, so Reid pressed the button by the door. The small screen next to it flashed to life, displaying the view from the hidden camera. It wasn't another of Damian's henchmen lurking next to Jim.

Luke's mom had arrived.

With Noah.

Lucinda had failed to mention _that_ development.

Fighting against his first instinct to tell them through the intercom to go away, Reid instead opened the door. As tired as he was right now and as much as his knuckles were throbbing, opening the door was about the depth of his generosity.

The door swung open and Jim loomed into view, Lily and Noah trying to peer over his shoulder in an obvious attempt to catch a glimpse of the men they loved.

"Mrs Snyder has arrived, Dr Oliver. However, this man claims-"

"Yeah, yeah," Reid interrupted, turning away and implicitly inviting them in. "Dad is that way," he announced, pointing towards Holden's room, "son is that way," he continued, pointing towards Luke's, "I'm going back to bed."

Turning to face them briefly, he saw they were giving him strange looks and then Lily quickly made a beeline for her son.

Jim disappeared back out the door, closing it behind him. Noah just kept looking at him strangely.

"They said a Dr Oliver found them," Noah said, obviously confused if the squinting was anything to go by. "I didn't realise that was you." Reid shrugged. "Thank you," Noah rushed on, "I can't believe you went to all this trouble."

"It's just as well someone did, or Damian really might have had them by now," Reid retorted. "Anyway, like I said, I'm going back to bed." Circumstances being what they were, he wasn't about to climb back into bed with Luke right in front of his mother or his ex-boyfriend - even he wasn't that crass, and it was still debatable whether he and Luke were even really 'together' - whatever the hell that meant - at this point. Luke should be informed, however.

Taking a step towards Luke's bedroom, Reid came to a stop when Noah took a step in the same direction, unwittingly bumping into him. There were brief mumbles of apology as they stepped back - well, Noah apologised, Reid just sighed heavily - and then Noah was staring at Reid intensely.

It was actually kind of creepy.

"Where are you going?"

He had to explain himself now? "To speak to Luke."

"Why?"

God, no wonder Luke had dumped him. Having to explain every little thing you did would've driven a saint mad - and Reid was sure as hell no saint. "For a reason that's none of your business?" Reid asked rhetorically, quickly resuming his journey.

"How do you even know Luke?" Noah continued curiously. "You did all this, but I've never even met you before this morning."

Ignoring the question, Reid continued on and when he pushed open the door to the room, Luke was wrapped in one of those luxurious robes and the arms of his mother.

"Mom, I'm fine, I swear," Luke was saying, hugging her back tightly, then pulling back a little to smile at her reassuringly. "Tired, definitely. Sore from helping Dad walk," he shrugged, "but nothing I can't handle. Now, go and see him," he insisted, "I know you want to."

"Are you sure?" Lily asked emotionally, clearly torn between her son and her husband.

"That's only the third time you've asked," Luke rebuked with good humour. "Now go!"

Tightly holding his hands for a few moments, Lily then leant in and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I love you so much," she said quietly, reaching out to touch the fingers of her right hand lightly against the bruise on his face. "My little boy." After one last watery smile she hurried away, squeezing past Reid to find her husband.

Letting out a breath, Luke turned, breaking out into a smile when he saw Reid. Barely two seconds later, the smile vanished as Noah rushed into the room.

" _Noah?_ "

Luke still looked profoundly shocked as Noah engulfed him in a huge hug, Luke's arms eventually coming up to pat Noah awkwardly on the back.

"Thank God you're okay!" Noah enthused, rocking Luke gently from side to side. "Luke, I'm so sorry, this is all my fault!"

"Um," Luke frowned, "how is it your fault, exactly?"

Pulling back, Noah gripped Luke's upper arms. "I was so insistent that you go on the trip with your Dad rather than the business trip with Damian. If you hadn't listened to me..."

"I didn't," Luke assured him. "I finally decided myself to come to Kentucky with Dad because I had some..." he glanced over at Reid "...things I wanted his advice on." Reid wasn't sure how he felt about being the reason that Luke had gone on the trip in the first place.

Realising they still had company, Noah nodded toward Reid. "Could we have a little privacy?"

Reid really didn't want to play audience to whatever the hell Noah was going to say, anyway. He'd been through enough with Luke today to know nothing was going to happen. "Sure," he shrugged, really just wanting nothing more than to get back to sleep and avoid as much drama as possible, "I just came to tell Luke I'm crashing on the sofa-"

"No," Luke urged, stepping away from Noah, although Noah was still hanging on to his arm. "Don't go."

Reid didn't move. It annoyed him - he annoyed himself - but he didn't move. He may have been exhausted, but the prospect of even just sleeping with Luke again was a heady one.

He was totally screwed.

Noah turned Luke back towards him. "Okay, okay, I don't mind if he stays. That was one of the reasons you broke up with me in the first place, right? I couldn't be open about my emotions." Swallowing hard, clearly bracing himself for the emotional moment - seriously, the guy needed therapy - Noah then announced, "Luke, thinking you were dead was just about the worst I've ever felt in my whole life. I know you said that we're not right for each other anymore, but I'm willing to try. Therapy, anything that could bring us back together. After the last couple of days, I can't imagine a life without you in it."

"Noah," Luke sighed, tipping his head to one side, "I'm sorry that you had to go through that. I'm sorry anyone had to," he continued, "but I will always be a part of your life. As a friend," Luke added, quietly but firmly.

Noah shook his head rapidly. "Luke-"

"Noah," Luke interrupted, "what happened changes nothing about our relationship. And it's not like this is our first brush with death, right?" he joked. Reid figured that if you came from Oakdale you'd have to joke about it or go insane. Which probably explained most of the people in the town. "It didn't change the way we treated each other before, and it won't change anything this time. We might be better for a while," he admitted, nodding, "but we always fall back into the same routine. Pulling away. Hurting each other." Reid was pretty damn sure there'd been little to no pulling away on Luke's part. Luke smiled at Noah sadly. "That's not what I want, anymore. We deserve better. _I_ deserve better," he announced finally.

Noah's face was a frustrating picture of understanding. "It's okay, Luke. You're tired. We'll talk about it some more tomorrow-"

"No we won't, Noah," Luke informed him, pulling out of his grasp, "I told you when we broke up and I'm telling you now - there's nothing left to discuss. As far as I'm concerned any romantic relationship between us is over, and I don't want to revive it."

"Luke-"

Clearly getting frustrated, Luke interrupted him again. "Noah. _No._ Please get out of my room."

"But-"

"There are no bedrooms left, but you're welcome to sleep on the sofa. It's surprisingly comfortable for an expensive sofa - they usually go for style over function." He was clearly trying to make the situation easier through levity. Reid kind of doubted that was going to work.

Pausing, Noah frowned intently towards Reid. "Where's _he_ sleeping?"

"Where he was when you arrived," Luke replied calmly. "With me." Luke was a much better man that Reid was. Reid would've been taking every opportunity to rub his own hotness in Noah's face.

Speaking of Noah's face, the changing emotions passing over it were really quite pleasing. "With _you?_ In the same _bed?_ "

"There's nowhere else for him to sleep in here, is there?" Luke asked, beginning to shepherd him towards the door. Reid quickly stepped in and moved to one side, freeing up the space in the doorway.

Noah had started moving automatically when Luke had urged him to, but then he paused and spun back around to face Luke. "Are you two _together?_ "

"I don't know what we are," Luke replied, unashamed, glancing over towards Reid with a small smile, "but I know I want to find out." Once again Reid found himself smiling back, and this time he definitely knew it was because he wanted to.

God, he was a sap.

"I can't believe this!" Noah exclaimed. "We've only been broken up for a week and you're with someone else already? Have you been _cheating_ on me?"

"Nothing happened until after we broke up," Luke quickly explained, although his gaze flicked away guiltily. Reid could at least understand where Luke was coming from - although nothing had actually happened, there'd definitely been _something_ between them before the break-up. "And he wasn't the reason I broke up with you."

Noah, apparently, had selective hearing. "I can't believe this! You left me for another man!"

"I left you for _me!_ " Luke finally exploded, his considerable patience giving way. "Because I was sick and tired of you constantly not believing in me, belittling me and making me feel bad about who I am! It's only been a week but I think I might actually _like_ Luke Snyder. And I certainly like him a hell of a lot more when he's not around you! Now get out of my room!"

"I'm not going anywhere," Noah retorted darkly. Reid's first instinct was to snap out something harsh but he held it back, waiting to see how Luke wanted to handle it.

Luke set his jaw firmly, folding his arms across his chest, looking adorable yet fierce in his fluffy robe. "Oh, I think you are, Noah. That man just outside the door? One word to him and you'll be kicked out of this hotel so fast your head will spin. Good luck trying to find a hotel anywhere in Louisville that'll take you after I call Grandmother."

Noah's nostrils flared unattractively with rage. "Before Damian came back, you told me you never wanted to be anything like him. Well, you failed, _Luciano_. You're exactly like him!" Storming out of the room, Noah slammed the door behind him impressively.

Holding still for a few moments, Luke then walked forward slowly and locked the door. Standing there with his arms crossed, he was plainly still steaming.

"We could always kick him out, anyway?" Reid suggested hopefully.

It got the hoped-for chuckle out of Luke, at least. Sighing, Luke brought a hand up and used the thumb and index finger to rub at his temples. "Don't tempt me."

Moving closer behind him, Reid placed a hand on Luke's shoulder, leaning in close and murmuring a husky, " _Luciano._ "

Flushing, Luke glanced back at him. "I don't like that side of myself," he admitted.

"Why not?" Reid asked bluntly, sliding his hand away. "I thought you liked Luke Snyder? That's a part of you, too. And it's whether you use your powers for good or evil that really matters. If you really were like Bad Dad you wouldn't have just threatened Noah - you would've followed through with it. Plus," Reid acknowledged, "the Luciano side of you? Totally hot."

Grinning, biting on his bottom lip - now nothing like Damian Grimaldi whatsoever - Luke grabbed Reid's wrist. "Come on," he said, leading Reid back towards the bed, appearing suddenly nervous in a way he hadn't been the first time they'd gone to sleep. "I'm still exhausted and after the week I've had you're sleeping here with me whether you want to or not." He looked a little embarrassed by his own forwardness, but equally determined not to back down.

"Yeah," Reid said dryly, eyeing Luke's impressive package as he quickly slipped out of his robe and snuck under the covers. "It's a real sacrifice."

*

The next time Reid woke, it was due to the quiet voices coming from the far side of the room. Stretching, stirring in the extremely comfortable bed, Reid pried his eyes open slightly to see Luke's robed back in the doorway.

"-can't believe you brought Noah," Luke was in the middle of saying.

"Honey, to be fair," Lily's voice quietly pointed out, "it's not like either one of you told me you'd broken up."

Luke tipped his head down briefly at the mild rebuke. "It's not like I wanted to hide it. Come on, Mom, you can't honestly tell me that you actually believed I moved back home recently just to help with the kids?"

"It is the kind of thing you've done before, Luke," she told him. "I just thought you were having a few problems or that Noah needed some space to concentrate on college. I know I barely see him anymore," she said sadly. "In any case, he explained everything to me this morning."

Reid couldn't help but wonder exactly what Noah had 'explained' and if it matched anyone's version of reality.

Apparently feeling the same way, Luke questioned Noah's version of events. "And what did Noah explain to you, exactly?"

"That you broke up with him about ten days ago," Lily said, "that you told him that you weren't good together anymore - that you just kept hurting each other and you didn't want to keep doing that any longer."

Shoulders slumping in surprise, Luke stood there awkwardly. "Oh." Reid felt as surprised as Luke sounded but when he gave it some consideration, Noah must've had some redeeming features, somewhere, or Luke never would've been in a relationship with him in the first place.

"Of course, he had some choice words about your...friendship...with Dr Oliver."

That sounded more like it.

"I bet he did," Luke retorted, shoulders tensing.

"It does seem awfully fast," Lily admitted, "and so soon after Noah. How do you know the two of you won't find your way back to each other? You always have before."

"Because all those times before," Luke replied firmly, "I wanted to get back together. Anything was better than being alone. The abandoned drunk."

Lily gasped. "Honey..."

"It doesn't feel that way with Reid," Luke continued quietly. "I'm not starting something with him because I think no one else could care about me. I'm still figuring it all out, but...I just know that I like him, Mom."

Reid didn't know what to do with this information. Despite the habit Luke apparently had of suddenly blurting out whatever random thought came to mind, Reid still didn't know how to deal with people who were so open with their emotions. Generally he found them irritating and would brush them aside or destroy them with a carefully chosen sharp-edged comment.

But he _liked_ Luke.

Lily sighed. "It just seems so sudden."

"Not as sudden as you might think. Noah and I have been drifting away from each other for a while, now. And it doesn't matter even if it is sudden," he announced decisively, "we're both adults. I know you like Noah, but-"

"You're right," she interrupted, "I know that. It's just hard for a mother to see her little boy as a fully grown man," she added fondly. "I suppose I see Noah that way, too. He was so... _lost_ and it was easy seeing him almost as another son. My two boys. Dr Oliver, however? He is _definitely_ a man."

That wasn't icky at all.

Luke shifted in place. " _Mom_..." It was disturbing how easily Luke could sound like a little kid.

"Luke Snyder, get your head out of the gutter. Although I suppose you enjoy it down there." Luke said nothing, lowering his head quickly and Reid just knew his face was flushed red. "That's what I thought," Lily continued knowingly. "What I actually meant was, when the rest of us heard the news we just...fell apart. Or at least I did," she cleared her throat, voice emotional. "I couldn't do anything. I couldn't even get out of bed. God, I let Damian deal with everything and when I think about that I get so mad at myself!"

Stepping forward, Luke comforted his mother. "I still can't believe he did it. I don't even know _why_ he did it."

A few moments later, Lily found the strength to continue. "My point is, we couldn't do anything but grieve. Even Noah. Reid? He came down here determined to get to the truth, whatever that may be."

"He still grieved, Mom." Pausing, Luke changed the angle of his body and turned his head around, catching Reid watching him. Luke stared at him and Reid didn't look away. "He just did it in his own way."

Reid clenched his fingers together automatically. Both hands still felt sore, overused, but his right hand in particular was still throbbing.

Luke turned back towards his mother when she spoke again.

"Luke, I may be fond of Noah but Dr Oliver brought you and your father back to me. I will admit," she conceded, "from the brief interaction we've had so far, Reid doesn't seem especially...pleasant. But he brought my family back together. How can I do anything else but like him?"

This being a hero thing was turning out to be more awesome than he'd anticipated. It was making the whole 'meet the parents' thing much less...concerning. Mild though that concern had obviously been. Both of Luke's parents loved him already and they'd barely interacted at all.

Admittedly, that was probably why they liked him.

Reid must've missed something, then, because Luke was kissing his mom on the cheek and closing the door, turning around and almost...sauntering?

He was definitely sauntering.

Wearing the fluffy robe, Luke sauntered across the room, pausing at the end of the bed...and then seemed to have no idea what he should do next. Suddenly looking unsure, his hands clutched nervously on the sash holding his robe together. "Um. Sleep well?"

"Sure did," Reid replied warmly, amused, flicking his gaze over Luke's body.

Actually taking a half-step back, Luke suddenly announced, "I need to take a shower." Immediately moving, he walked as quickly as he could towards the bathroom without actually breaking out into a run. When the door closed quickly and firmly, Reid continued to grin to himself and rolled over in the bed, spreading out.

He could only imagine what sex between Luke and Noah had been like, and quite frankly he didn't _want_ to imagine it at all. It was better thinking of it in vague, blurry concepts. This yo-yo, hot and cold performance of Luke's was half alluring, half frustrating as hell - or at least Reid could imagine it would be, eventually - and it made Reid wonder just what the hell had happened in Luke and Noah's relationship when it came to sex.

Reid could only hope that after the first few weeks it would no longer be an issue for them and that, before long, they'd be screwing like bunnies.

A man could dream and, closing his eyes, Reid attempted to do just that.

Still, he couldn't help but contemplate what Luke's reaction would be if Reid tried to join him in the shower. Given the way Luke had all but run for his life into the bathroom, he'd probably go all Victorian Heroine on him and clutch his metaphorical pearls to his chest.

Either way, it was going to be fascinating seeing how Luke behaved in a relationship with someone who wasn't Noah. And that someone was actually _him._

Somehow he'd used that word without even thinking about it. _Relationship_. But that was what he'd thought before, right? That it might actually be worth trying if Luke was involved.

Yet they hadn't even decided anything and although Reid wanted to say there was no rush - it would've been what he usually said, no need to define anything just yet - Luke had been dead yesterday morning.

Death changed everything, even for Reid Oliver.

It was clear sleep was gone for the night, but Reid just kept laying there comfortably as he pondered over the things Luke had revealed to his mom and his own thoughts a few moments ago.

Some unknowable time later, Reid heard the bathroom door open. There was a vague sound of movement and then the side of the bed dipped. Turning over, Reid blinked his eyes open to see Luke studying him warily. Wet was another good look on him. Back in nothing but the bath robe, his hair was damp and his skin was flushed from the shower. The bruise on his face stood out even more vibrantly. Reid resisted the urge to touch it.

"I shouldn't have run off like that," Luke apologised.

Somehow, Reid wasn't surprised that apology was Luke's first instinct. "You have nothing to apologise for," Reid insisted.

Luke bit his bottom lip. "I've only ever been with Noah."

That didn't come as a surprise - although he thought that based only on the way Luke behaved. As far as he was concerned, any gay guy in Oakdale who hadn't even tried to hit on Luke was a moron. "I figured."

"And I'm assuming you're more experienced."

He wasn't surprised this was at the heart of the matter, either. "You assume right - if you're talking about sex. If you're talking about the actual relationship side of things? We're pretty much equal." Reid had only really been in one relationship before, and even that had been more of a business relationship.

The answer seemed to mollify Luke for a few moments. Unfortunately, he then blurted out, "We didn't have sex for eighteen months."

Reid stared at him.

"Me and Noah, that is."

Reid stared at him.

"Noah and I didn't have sex until about eighteen months after we first kissed," Luke clarified.

Reid stared at him.

Reid thought about Luke's reaction after Reid had kissed him, the passion he'd responded with, and came to the only logical conclusion.

"Was he a eunuch?"

Spluttering, Luke was doing a very bad job of trying to look disapproving. "Reid!"

"I'm serious," Reid shrugged, "have you seen you? I wanted to sleep with you about two seconds after I met you. No matter how irritating you were."

Luke perked up at that a ridiculous amount. "Really?"

"Eighteen months?" Reid asked, disbelieving. Eighteen _months_. "I've never even known someone I've slept with for that long."

"Well, you know," Luke looked down at his hands, "it's always meant a lot to me. Sex." Given how his parents' various infidelities had made him feel, Reid could completely understand. "But I definitely didn't want to wait _that_ long," he admitted, "at first there was always something getting in the way, and then...I don't know. Noah kept putting it off."

Reid needed a rubber stamp marked _IDIOT!_ just so he could stamp it onto Noah Mayer's forehead whenever another piece of his past idiocy cropped up.

Eighteen months?

Reid eyed Luke, who was now looking at him warily. He thought over everything Luke had just said and realised this was a moment when he was probably meant to be reassuring. "It'll happen when it happens." Perhaps not the best pep talk he'd ever given, but he hoped to God he wouldn't have to wait eighteen months because he might just die from the severe friction burns caused by excessive masturbation.

Smiling fondly, Luke pressed a hand flat onto the bed. "If we are starting something-"

"We are," Reid assured him, taking Luke's free hand. He was in far, far too deep to just turn away.

The smile brightened, Luke gently squeezing his hand. "I can't see it taking eighteen months," he murmured quietly, honestly. "I can barely see it taking eighteen days, which is...kind of terrifying," he admitted. "You make me feel..."

At least Reid wasn't the only one feeling... _concerned_...from time to time.

But there was something far more interesting to focus on.

"How?" Reid prompted, turning his hand and carefully threading their fingers together. "How do I make you feel, Luke?"

Luke's mouth opened but nothing came out, his gaze instead falling to Reid's lips.

It was easy to see where this was going. "You know I haven't brushed my teeth yet, right?"

"Stop talking," Luke ordered, "it ruins how pretty you look."

That whole exchange kind of ruined the moment which Reid didn't even really _mind_ because they ended up sitting there, holding hands and grinning at each other.

Yeah, he was totally screwed.

And not even in the literal way.

After Reid had his own shower and brushed his teeth with one of the complimentary toothbrushes - seriously, best hotel ever - he strode innocently out of the bathroom in his new favourite robe when Luke pounced. Actually letting out a small yelp of surprise - which he'd never admit to anyone and barely admitted to himself - Reid soon got over it when Luke pushed him up against the wall and they shared a mint-soaked kiss with just a hint of tongue.

After Luke's attack ended, he stepped back and regarded Reid mischievously. "Seventeen days," he murmured seductively.

Yeah, this was pretty much going to be the best countdown _ever_.

When Luke and Reid finally emerged, fully dressed in the well-fitted clothes provided by the hotel (Reid was so staying here the next time he travelled even vaguely in the direction of Louisville), everyone else was dressed and waiting for them.

Several trays of breakfast foods were also waiting for them. Reid eyed these Divine Trays of God hungrily, his stomach rumbling loudly.

Noah glowered at him.

Luke chuckled at him. "When's the last time you ate anything?"

He tried to think up an answer, but honestly couldn't remember. "Don't know," he shrugged absently, fingers itching to reach for a plate, "had other things on my mind."

Luke made a soft noise and when Reid glanced up, Luke was looking emotional and Lily was looking at Holden meaningfully with a hand to her chest.

Rolling his eyes, he then moved on to the food.

"I'm _starving_ ," Luke announced, grabbing his own plate and getting stuck in.

"You've dropped a lot of weight over the past few days," Reid observed casually, trying to pick between a bagel and a croissant; eventually choosing both, "both of you. And neither one of you needed to lose it. Eat," he instructed, biting into a slice of honeydew melon. Mmm, melon-y goodness.

As everyone else helped themselves to breakfast - Lily preparing a selection for her husband - Reid glanced up mid-munch, pausing when he saw Noah staring at him. Chewing and swallowing his mouthful of food, Reid smiled at him brightly just to irritate him, then went about selecting exactly what to spread on his bagel.

*

Leaving the hotel was just as painless as entering it had been. The staff were helpful and professional, Holden was helped into the limousine, and again there was nothing that had to be signed. Reid was a rich enough man, but he more than admired Lucinda's deep pockets.

The drive to the police station didn't take long. This time, Luke was wide awake which Reid found himself regretting - something Jim apparently noticed, giving Reid a knowing look. Reid tried to be intimidating in return, but trying to intimidate Jim was like using a leaf-blower against a hurricane.

They spent entirely too long at the station. First, they had to give their statements separately. Then someone had to type them up. Then they had to read over them, agree that they were correct, and sign them. It didn't sound like a particularly lengthy process but it definitely was and Reid considered himself extremely restrained for not breaking out into vivid rants about the inefficiency of the entire system. A few times he came seriously close to letting rip with a comment that'd probably end up getting him arrested. Luckily, Luke was close-by each time and would break the moment with a touch, by leaning in close or just murmuring something.

By the time they all emerged into daylight again, it was late afternoon. Noah, who'd had to wait with Lily the entire time they were giving their statements, looked particularly grumpy. Reid couldn't really blame him. He'd been bored out of his mind and he'd actually been doing something.

"What do you guys say?" Holden asked as the limo pulled up. "Do you want something to eat and drink, or should we go straight home?"

"Home," came the collective answer, even from Reid. He could definitely eat, but he'd been in Louisville long enough.

Holden was helped in first, the chauffeur placing the folding wheelchair in the spacious trunk - apparently the wheelchair was either bought by Lucinda to begin with or bought from the hotel by Lucinda, due to her disgusting oodles of cash - and then one by one they all climbed inside the limousine. Reid was the last one on the sidewalk, bar Jim, and just as he moved to slide inside, his phone started ringing. Pausing with the car door open, Reid tugged the phone out of his pocket and stared at it.

_Barbara Ryan is calling..._

Immediately rejecting the call and turning off the phone, Reid finished his climb into the car.

"Who was that?" Luke asked as Reid settled in next to him.

"No one important," Reid shrugged, placing a hand on Luke's thigh as he looked out through the window and watched Louisville pass by.

*

Boarding a private jet took far less time then for a regular commuter, even with Holden's wheelchair. Luke and Holden had still had no wallets with ID in them, of course, but Lily had dug out their passports and brought them with her just in case they turned out to be necessary.

Before even letting them go anywhere near the plane, Jim made a point of examining it closely, a process that took a good half an hour. Reid appreciated the thoroughness, especially after seeing that guy try to kidnap Luke, but after the first few minutes he just wanted to get on the damn plane.

Luke obviously noticed how fidgety he was, constantly moving from foot to foot.

"You okay?"

Glancing up at the quietly murmured question, Reid responded just as quietly. "Not exactly thrilled about getting on that thing in the first place. All this... _waiting_ is just exacerbating the problem."

Nodding sympathetically, Luke opened his mouth to produce something no doubt equally sympathetic when Jim declared the plane all clear.

Going up the small flight of stairs in order to board the plane was out of the question in a wheelchair, so the three men awkwardly helped Holden up the stairs, Lily making worried noises behind them the whole time.

Once there were on board and the single crewmember - other than the pilot - had stored the folded wheelchair away, Jim wished them a safe journey and turned to disembark. Before he could, Luke stepped toward him.

"Thank you so much for all your help," he said.

Holden concurred. "We really appreciate everything you've done for us."

"I couldn't agree more," Lily moved to stand next to her son. "Thank you for protecting our family."

It was like an episode of The Waltons.

Not that Reid had ever watched The Waltons. And he'd certainly never heard of John-Boy.

"Don't worry," Reid assured Jim, "the 'thanking you for something you're paid to do' thing? It's just something they do in their part of the world. You'll get used to it."

Lily and Noah frowned at him. Luke looked like he was trying to be offended but was having trouble following through. Holden just smiled to himself.

Unlike Reid, Jim didn't seem to find anything disturbingly Stepford-like about their effusive thank you's. "Just doing my job, Ma'am," Jim replied smoothly. "If you're ever in the area again and in need of some assistance, don't hesitate to call."

Before long the stairs were up and they were all asked to turn off their phones and make sure they were seated safely. Being a private jet instead of a regular plane, the seat belt situation was somewhat sporadic. Reid wasn't actually able to sit right next to Luke, but they were only a few feet away from each other. Fortunately, Noah was sitting somewhere behind him, so Reid wouldn't have to a) see his face at all, or b) put up with his constant glaring.

Unfortunately, they then just sat there. And sat there. And sat there.

Reid could cope with planes if he was distracted - when normally planning to fly, he brought along something to read that would occupy his time - or they were actually moving. Sitting there with nothing to do was interminable. Swallowing quietly, he pulled at the top button of his shirt. When the steward or whatever the hell he was then announced that they were waiting for a break in the available air space and they weren't sure yet how long it was going to take, Reid shifted in his seat.

This was appalling. How were rich people expected to survive in these conditions? They paid millions of dollars for private jets for good reason. They shouldn't have to _wait in line._

"Reid?"

Luke had noticed. Of course Luke had noticed.

"It's fine," Reid insisted, right hand tapping sporadically against his thigh. It was fine, it was fine. He just had to remember Luke's suggestion from the elevator. _The amygdala is involved in signalling the cortex of motivationally significant stimuli such as those related to reward and fear in addition to social functions such as mating._

His amygdala was definitely getting a work-out lately, he thought with a quiet snort.

_The hippocampus is required for the formation of long-term memories and is implicated in the maintenance of cognitive maps-_

"What's the matter, Dr Oliver?" Noah's voice intruded, speaking to him directly for the first time that day, breaking his concentration. "Can't be bothered to wait around like a normal person? I thought doctors were supposed to be all about patience instead of instant gratification."

As Noah was immediately rebuked by all three Snyder's - he was already making himself look like an ass; Reid didn't have to do anything at all which was extremely convenient - Reid clenched his fingers into his arm rests.

He really shouldn't have been surprised that the first thing Noah brought up - albeit in a round-about way - was sex. He plainly hated Reid (the angry glares he'd been sending Reid all day were a pretty big clue) and there was no way that the instant gratification comment _wasn't_ about sex. He probably thought that Luke and Reid had screwed each other senseless already.

And _that_ was an extremely distracting thought to continue with, but if he did continue with it he was likely to grace the rest of the group with a boner for the rest of the journey, and Reid actually wasn't much of an exhibitionist if there was no one to be sharing the boner with at the time.

"It boggles the mind," Reid began, talking over whoever had been talking at the time, "that even you cannot tell the difference between someone who is impatient - which I am most of the time, I fully admit - and someone who is trying to cope with a phobia. Your level of comprehension and understanding of your fellow human beings is astounding, Mr Mayer."

"Well...I..." Noah stuttered, then promptly shut up.

"You're afraid of flying, Dr Oliver?" Lily asked curiously.

"No, I have a phobia about being stuck inside a tin can for hours on end."

"Oh," she said. "Do you feel this way every time you-?"

"Can we not play twenty questions right now, Mrs Snyder?" Reid spat out, feeling the tension in his head increasing. "I'm trying very hard not to be rude because it's in my own self-interest to maintain a good relationship with Luke's parents, but you're really not making it easy."

Lily stopped talking, too.

There was a clunk; the sound of metal on metal and then gentle pressure against the back of Reid's hands. Opening his eyes, he wasn't surprised to see Luke in front of him, smiling gently.

"You've flown a lot," Luke said carefully, "is it this bad each time?"

"No," Reid shook his head. "Worse than usual."

He nodded. "Has anything unusual happened lately? Something that could've made the reaction worse?"

"Are you kidding me?" Reid shot back. "In the town you live in, _everything_ is unusual. I don't know if you noticed, but psychic visions and evil doppelgangers are not normal behaviour."

"You live there, too," Luke pointed out warmly.

"Yeah, don't remind me," Reid muttered, then focused on recent events. "I did get stuck in an elevator with this really hot but irritating guy," he pondered, "for _hours_. I almost died of starvation."

"I don't know how you survived such harsh conditions," Luke mocked lightly.

"It was a challenge," Reid played along. "Fortunately, I'm made of stern stuff."

Smiling for a moment, Luke then asked a question. "What about when you flew out here? Was it that bad then?"

Reid hadn't even thought about it. Reid hadn't even realised that he hadn't reacted at all. "No. I didn't freak out at all. I guess..." he glanced away, "...it didn't matter at the time." He wasn't thinking about that again unless he couldn't help it.

The pressure on his hands increased briefly.

"It's just a shame we can't play chess, this time," Luke said eventually, and when Reid looked back at him they shared a smile of remembrance.

"I'd kick your ass, anyway."

"Only because I let you," Luke teased.

Ha. "Keep telling yourself that, Mr Snyder. I know the truth."

An announcement from the pilot interrupted through the speakers. _"Ladies and Gentlemen, if you'd like to make sure you're safely seated we've just been given permission to depart."_

"Seat," Reid instructed, "right now."

"Sir, yes sir!" Luke mocked, even going as far as saluting him cheekily before returning to his seat.

Smiling to himself, more than he should have, then at Luke who'd buckled in and was grinning across at him, a thought suddenly occurred. "Mental chess match?"

Luke looked surprised, then concerned at the idea. But after a few moments, he nodded his head. "Sure. But now you're definitely going to kick my ass."

As if there was ever any doubt.

The steward walked about the plane, double-checking everyone was strapped in safely - and checking if there was anything Reid needed. His shook his head abruptly.

Predictably, Reid thrashed Luke even more thoroughly at mental chess than he had an actual chess, but it certainly made the flight pass quickly. Being a short flight anyway, once they started playing chess it felt like no time at all until they were coming in to land in Oakdale. In cases of airplane travel, Luke was officially the best distraction ever.

As soon as they landed, were permitted to undo their seat belts and the engines had come to a halt, Luke peered out of a window. "Everyone's here!" he announced, running to the exit. Somewhat impressively, he got the door open and the steps down all by himself - obviously either used to doing so or used to seeing someone else doing so, which said so much about his life - and then he was all but leaping out of the plane. The steward watched the entire thing with a huge frown of disapproval.

Strolling over to Holden, Reid started helping him up. "I see how it is," he complained, "leaving us all the grunt work."

Chuckling, Holden leant against him. "Sometimes Luke's enthusiasm gets the better of him."

"Tell me something I don't know," Noah retorted, giving Reid a significant look as he stepped into view, supporting Holden's other side. It turned out to actually be less awkward with two people supporting him instead of three, and they'd moved Holden most of the way to the door when Luke pounced back inside.

"Oh my God, Dad, I'm so sorry!"

"Don't worry about it, Luke," Holden grinned. "Help Dan with the wheelchair, okay?"

Reid didn't even really look around as they emerged from the plane, too intent on getting Holden safely down the stairs without mishap. It wasn't until they were on solid ground, Holden's arm still around his neck, his arm wrapped around Holden's back, that he actually looked at who was waiting for them.

It really _was_ everyone.

Lucinda and Emma, Brad and Katie, various children, Meg and Eliza, a bunch of men and women who seemed familiar - they'd probably been at the farm the previous morning. Even Casey was there, with one of the nurses from _Memorial_.

Emma immediately started rushing towards them, pulling Holden into a huge hug. Reid had to release him and step back from fear of being caught in its gravitational force.

"My boy," Emma said emotionally, "my dear, sweet boy."

"Momma," Holden replied roughly, holding on just as tightly.

The younger kids were just moments behind her, throwing their arms around their father. The oldest one lurked a few feet away, until Luke gave her a _look_ and she caved and joined in with the hugging.

The crowd started swarming around them as Holden was finally able to lower himself into the wheelchair. The youngest kids then threw their arms around Luke.

"Hey, guys!" he greeted cheerfully, like he hadn't been through a traumatic experience for what felt like days on end. "Have you been behaving yourselves for Grandma?"

Katie was suddenly right there, beaming at him. "You did good, Dr Oliver," she announced proudly, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"I did?"

"Oh, I quite concur," Lucinda agreed, stepping next to Katie, removing her expensive-looking sunglasses. "Without your help, goodness only knows how long Damian would've fooled us."

"It was your idea and your money that got me there," he pointed out.

"And it was your balls that got the job done," she retorted with a smirk. "Much as it pains me to say to this to anyone...I am in your debt. If there's anything I can do for you - my eldest grandson, perhaps?" she asked knowingly.

Katie grinned stupidly.

Reid tried not to. "Touched though I am at the idea of you trading your Grandson for services rendered, I'm pretty sure I don't need any help in that department." Searching through the crowd, he saw Luke talking with Casey enthusiastically, the two of them laughing, Luke acting out what looked like a recreation of Reid's punch in the stairwell.

With this particular group of people milling around, laughing and talking, the sun shining low in the sky and Luke, alive, laughing just a few feet away...Reid was forced to admit that, despite everything, it'd turned out to be a nice freaking day.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Lucinda suddenly announced, drawing all attention to her. The various conversations dried up. "Festivities will continue shortly at the farm, where Emma has prepared a feast fit for her charming new cooking pot. Tonight," Lucinda declared, "we celebrate the return of two members of our family. And perhaps," she smirked in Reid's direction, "the addition of a new one in the form of the man who brought them back to us - Dr Reid Oliver."

Instantly, all attention was on him. Reid normally liked being the centre of attention - when it was on his terms. Being visually dissected by twenty pairs of Snyder & Co eyes was extremely disconcerting. "Um. You're welcome?"

When they surged towards him, Reid actually took a step back.

Luke, his knight in shining denim, was suddenly standing in front of him. "Let's continue this at the farm," he suggested, holding his arms out, "we need to get the area clear anyway. Come on! Move, people!"

Slowly, the crowd began to dissipate, people heading off in different directions, probably towards whichever mode of transport they'd arrived in. In the end it was just the group from Louisville - bar Noah, who'd disappeared off somewhere - and their direct family left behind.

"Dr Oliver," Emma said, raising a hand to her chest and looking disturbingly like she wanted to hug him, "I can't begin to tell you how much I - we - appreciate what you've done for this family."

Reid started feeling awkward again - until Luke elbowed him in the side.

"You _are_ pretty awesome," he grinned.

Reid grinned back. "Well as long as _you_ think so, that's all that matters."

Still smiling, Luke leant into him and it just felt like the easiest thing in the world to reach a hand up, pull him in closer and plant a kiss on his lips.

" _Oh,_ " Emma breathed. "Well, that clears a few things up. Come on, young boys and girls, let's give them some privacy."

Reid thought he heard the oldest one muttering something about her brother being gross. And then...

"Grandma?" the smallest kid asked, voice getting quieter as they walked away.

"Yes, Ethan?"

"Why isn't Luke kissing Noah anymore?"

*

There were a few cars waiting to take the group to the farm. Luke and Reid were the last people to arrive to the last car and as they slid inside, Reid only then realised that the others had deliberately sat themselves in way that meant the two of them could sit next to each other. Luke clearly noticed it too, smiling to himself as he pulled the car door shut behind him.

Reid just found it odd. Sure, out of all of them of course he wanted to sit next to Luke the most. Luke was the only one he wanted to strip down and do sweaty, dirty things to. But it just seemed bizarre how many of these people appeared immediately accepting of whatever this thing was between them. Lily had some concerns, initially, but she'd got over them pretty damn fast. Everyone else? Seemed to be on board with the whole thing already.

True, they were apparently viewing him as some kind of hero - not an inherently bad thing when it came with benefits - so they were already more likely to be amenable towards him, but it was not what Reid was expecting.

This whole damn situation had happened so quickly - Luke dying, travelling to Louisville, Luke coming back to life, the kidnap attempt, talking to the police, Lily and Noah arriving, making their official statements - and, if he were honest, Reid didn't really know what he'd been expecting. He'd barely had time to think about it.

But when he did think about it, now, he expected judgement. Concern. Disapproval. Oakdale was a small town and, right or wrong, he automatically connected small towns with small-minded people.

But here they were, laughing and smiling, travelling in a caravan of cars to celebrate the return of family and the 'saviour' who brought them back. Reid was used to being thought of as a saviour when it came to his work, but this was something else entirely and something that he didn't know how to accept.

At least Noah hated him as much as he was expected to. Reid found it especially ironic that Noah was the only one from the entire group acting the way he should.

Luke was so distracted, chatting away happily with his grandmother who was sitting in the front, that for once he didn't notice Reid's confusion. Which was how it should be, as far as Reid was concerned.

When they reached the farm, the car turned and advanced along the gravel driveway. Reid leaned forward, peering through the windscreen and when he saw the huge collection of cars and people all waiting cheerfully for them, for _him_ , he suddenly broke out into a sweat and he was back in the plane, freaking out.

_Shit._

When the car crunched to a stop on the gravel, Luke wasted no time leaping out of the car, pulling open the passenger door and seeing if his grandmother needed any assistance. The driver - one of those guys who looked vaguely familiar at the airport - got out of the drivers side and walked towards the group.

Reid just sat there, frozen in the car.

A few moments later Luke was back, pulling open his own door. "Reid?"

"Yeah, I can't do this," Reid admitted, nodding to the back of the seat in front of him.

Leaning back out, Luke made some kind of gesture to the group waiting for them, then climbed back inside the car with Reid and slammed the door shut. The group started to disperse, although a few people lingered and studied the car curiously.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked and seemed to be making a point of not touching Reid at all.

At that particular moment in time, Reid appreciated it. He kept his gaze focused on the seat back, trying to keep calm. "They're all there. _Waiting_. To _swarm_."

" _What?_ " Luke asked, clearly utterly confused.

Reid didn't know how he couldn't possibly comprehend it. "I'm going to step into that house and they're going to swarm all over me. They're going to keep hugging or _touching_. Little kids and their sticky fingers. Old people with no concept of personal boundaries. Manly men, always slapping each other's shoulders and asses."

Luke just stared at him. "What movies have you been watching?"

"And they're all going to want to _talk_ to me," Reid continued, entrenched in the nightmare, " _thank_ me for everything I've done for them when my motivation for finding you was entirely selfish. I didn't think about anyone else. They're all so loving and caring and sharing, and I never think about anyone but myself. We have absolutely nothing in common."

"We both know that's not true," Luke retorted. "No matter what you try to tell yourself. And that nonsense about making them sound like a Hallmark Card, Picture Perfect family? One of the reasons I...like you so much," Luke pressed on, "is that it feels like you see me as I really am, flaws and all. Including my family. And you still appreciate me despite all of that. Noah always…" Pausing, he glanced away. "One of the reasons I ended things with Noah is that I finally realised he saw me how he wished I would be, instead of how I actually was. He saw the Picture Perfect, ready made family that he never had-"

"Like a Norman Rockwell painting," Reid said.

"Exactly," Luke nodded, looking back at him. "Too perfect. Not actual reality. And when I inevitably couldn't live up to his expectations, he...punished me for it." It looked like it was difficult for him to admit, only a recent realisation. "You're the one who helped me realise that, you know."

Reid licked his lips. "You're welcome?"

Nodding, Luke continued talking. "Yeah, my family love each other, but they're far from perfect. And you know that. You make fun of the people in Oakdale enough," he reminded with a small grin. "So what's really going on?"

Reid hadn't really been lying before. The...swarming thing was a very real concern. He hated crowds. "There's so _many_ of them."

"And you're not used to that," Luke stated.

He shook his head. "I've never seen more than three members of my family at the same time. And it was always the same three members. For some reason, the Oliver's have never been good at maintaining any kind of relationship - even familial. Hard to imagine why, huh?" he asked sarcastically. Christ, this was ridiculous behaviour and even he could tell that his insecurities were showing.

After a moment, Luke spoke quietly and insistently. "Reid."

Reid glanced across at him. "What?"

Luke smiled, looking at him meaningfully. "You're nothing like your parents."

Recognising the phrase as his own advice, Reid rolled his eyes at Luke's smile and snorted softly.

"You know," Luke told him conversationally, "Noah was in the same boat when he came to town."

Oh, wonderful. "Thanks for that comparison, really."

"I'm just saying," Luke continued, "he had no family to speak of, either. And he managed to face down the big, bad Snyder clan."

Reid squinted at him suspiciously. "Are you actually trying to turn this into a challenge to my ego?"

"Not at all," he insisted too-innocently. "I just think that if a teenage college student can handle it, a world-renowned neurosurgeon should be more than up to the task."

Regarding him seriously, Reid decided he was impressed. "You're a particular brand of evil, you know that?"

"Me?" he asked, all innocence.

"But a kind of cute, fluffy evil. Like whenever you were wearing that robe."

Eyes widening, Luke suddenly made a surprised face. "Oh! Yeah! I have something that'll make you feel better." He disappeared out of the car, feet crunching on gravel before quietly moving on grass, as he ran into the house.

Reid watched him go the entire time, a frown on his face.

Appearing again a few moments later with a pair of car keys, Luke promptly ran to one of the cars nearer the house and unlocked the trunk, pulling out a large bag with the name of the hotel they'd stayed at across the side.

Reid frowned even harder.

When Luke finally climbed back into the car with the bag, his grin was huge. Reid didn't even hesitate before snatching the bag out of his hand, extremely suspicious.

When he saw the contents he stared up at Luke, wide-eyed. "If I was physically capable of conceiving your child," Reid announced seriously, "I would absolutely be willing to do that right now."

Laughing, Luke let Reid pull him in for a brief kiss. "It was hard not to notice how you kept fondling yours," he said after, "and the way you kept looking at me when I was wearing mine," Luke finished, looking particularly pleased at that last detail, his gaze flicking up at Reid from under his eyelashes.

Hand inside the bag, Reid ran the hand across the material. "How did you even do this? I didn't even see this go onto the plane."

"Oh, you know what us rich people are like," Luke shrugged with a teasing grin, "always paying people to do things for us."

"I don't care what anyone says," Reid declared, "this was absolutely a much needed and valid use of your money."

Obviously delighted at Reid's reaction and his own cleverness, Luke sat there looking so pleased with himself and so pleased with life in general that Reid could do nothing else but shove the bag aside and pull Luke into another kiss.

Grinning into it, Luke's hands came up to play with the hair at the top of Reid's neck. "I love that," he murmured quietly, happily.

"What?" Reid asked, between one kiss and the next.

After another brush of mouth against mouth, Luke pressed his forehead against Reid's "You don't care that I have money."

What an absurd statement. "Why would I give a rat's ass if you have money?" Reid asked seriously. "It's money. What else is there to do but spend it? That's its function; the whole point of money in the first place. And if it's being spent on me," he shrugged, "well then it couldn't go to a more deserving guy."

Laughing - and kind of making Reid do the same - Luke leant in for another kiss. Reid was just starting to enjoy himself immensely when Luke unfortunately pulled away, although he kept his hands in Reid's hair. "So, Dr Oliver, are you feeling any better?"

Nodding, Reid had to be honest. "I have an awesome robe. I have an awesome boyfriend. If I had an awesome sandwich right now, life would be perfect."

Luke's stupid grin got even stupider. "Boyfriend?"

Ah. That had slipped out rather unintentionally, but Reid decided to just roll with it. "You prefer another term?"

"No," Luke grinned some more, "boyfriend's good. Is that what we are, Dr Oliver?"

Reid was pretty sure no one had ever grinned that much before in their entire life. "You're the expert," he shrugged, "you tell me."

"If you're amenable to the idea," Luke began jokingly, "then I think I can live with it." When Reid nodded, Luke moved his hands out of Reid's hair and clutched at Reid's wrist, instead. "Think you can handle going in, now?"

Once again Luke had been a great distraction, but as Reid looked back towards the farmhouse, he let out a deep breath. "It's still going to be crowded."

Tipping his head to one side, Luke studied him thoughtfully. "You think this is why you freaked out on the plane?"

He hadn't even considered that. "I don't know. Maybe." It was at least a working theory.

Nodding, Luke kept looking at him thoughtfully. "I'll enforce a two-foot exclusion zone," he said eventually. "Absolutely no hugging or touching."

"Apart from you," Reid offered.

"Apart from me," Luke agreed. "You may be forced to partake in small talk, however, and people generally going on about how wonderful you are."

He made a show of looking pained. "The things I do for you, Mr Snyder."

"But there will be food," Luke informed him happily, "lots and lots of food."

"Well hell, why didn't you just say so? Let's go!"

Smiling again, Luke squeezed Reid's wrist before releasing it. "Come on."

They climbed out from either side of the car, Reid bringing the bag with him (he wasn't taking a chance and leaving it behind. What if someone drove off with it still in their car?). As they approached the house, Reid was definitely still feeling...concerned about dealing with that many people wanting to interact with him all at once. Soon enough, however, Luke drifted over to him and when he gently brushed his hand against Reid's, Reid decided he might just survive the ordeal.

"Finally!" Lucinda announced, pushing open the door that led into the porch, "I thought you two were never going to stop kissing out there. Not that I don't applaud that use of your time," she added slyly, "I was young once, you know."

Reid thought Lucinda was pretty damn awesome, but wrinkled his nose at the thought nonetheless.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Grandmother," Luke apologised, rather too cheerily and not embarrassed at all, "my boyfriend and I just needed some time to ourselves."

Luke grinned to himself.

Reid rolled his eyes.

Lucinda widened hers. "Oh, well, in that case, I'm sure you did. Come in, come in," she urged, stepping aside to give them room to enter. Reid's gaze flicked to the small window showing the view into the kitchen, at the people standing there and the noise drifting out.

He could do this.

"Tell me, Dr Oliver," Lucinda began as Reid walked through the porch, "what's your opinion on pre-nups?"

*

Things improved significantly barely five minutes after Reid entered the house, when Emma announced they should take advantage of the mild weather before summer made its farewell. The sun was beginning to set, but a few of the crowd left the house and a few minutes later, sturdy-looking folding tables were being set up in the yard.

Needing no other excuse to get out of the house, Reid rushed outside as calmly as he could and parked himself by the table he suspected the best of the treats were going to be placed on. Luke wasn't far behind.

Luke was also plainly amused. "They weren't _that_ bad."

Truthfully, they could've been a lot worse - although the sooner Lucinda stopped trying to be amusing with the marriage comments, the better. Reid was still just getting comfortable with the idea of a relationship at all. Marriage was something he'd never even contemplated, especially after seeing the way his parents lived together.

In any case, Reid's imagination may have been running away with itself initially, but that still didn't mean he didn't prefer being out in the open. At least out here, even if several people actually wanted to talk to him at the same time - although God only knew why - he was out in the open and there was room to breathe.

Also, he could make an easy escape if it came down to it.

Holden had been offered the opportunity to rest, but he insisted on taking part in the festivities. Once the tables and chairs had been set up, Brad wheeled Holden outside, parking him in place of honour at the head of the largest table.

"Luke," Emma said, carrying out a disappointing bowl of salad, "you sit down next to your father at the head of the table."

"Oh, that's okay, Grandma. I thought I'd help you with-"

"Luke Snyder, you will do exactly as I say," she instructed, banging the bowl down with a definitive thump. "We lost both of you and you have _both_ come back to us. You are not doing anything today."

Luke promptly sat down on the chair.

Reid hastily sat down on Luke's other side, before Emma ordered him to sit next to Meg or somewhere equally hideous. She'd been shooting him glares whenever he had the misfortune of accidentally looking at her.

As Emma returned to the house and other members of the family ferried food out to the table - Reid spotted a platter of breaded chicken pieces and licked his lips - Luke turned to his dad. "So, what's it like having a set of wheels, old man?"

"Inconvenient," Holden admitted, looking down at his legs in frustration. "I got jammed in the kitchen door a couple of times and I have to admit, people falling all over themselves to be 'helpful' makes me feel about two inches tall. I think, from tomorrow, I'll see about getting around with crutches whenever I can. I don't know how you ever coped, Luke."

"Uh, you remember my vivid queen outs, right?" Luke chuckled. Reid could definitely picture them. "But eventually, I didn't have any other choice. Plus," Luke raised his arms and struck a body builder pose, "it was the best my arms ever looked."

Reid shook his head. "Trust you to find the upside to paralysis."

"Believe me," Luke shrugged, lowering his arms and facing Reid, "it was either that or give up on life altogether."

"I can't picture you doing that," Reid said seriously. Luke just giving up on life seemed as wrong as Henry and his shirts - they just didn't go together. "Queening out and overreacting? Absolutely. I saw that happen first hand at the apartment."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks, Dr Oliver. You're so sweet."

Reid flashed a deliberate grin. "I just call it how I see it, Mr Snyder."

Noticing movement from the corner of his eye, Reid moved his gaze to Holden who was busy rubbing a hand over his mouth at a poor attempt at hiding his amusement.

Reid raised his eyebrows. "Something you wanted to say, Mr Snyder?"

"No, no," Holden insisted, shaking his head and still wearing a small smirk as he removed his hand. "Just sitting back and watching the entertainment, that's all."

Luke gave his father an odd look, then focused back on Reid. "So, you were saying something about how brave and strong I am?"

"Pretty much," Reid agreed, much to Luke's apparent surprise. "I told you this before, Luke. If you were the type to give up you wouldn't be anywhere near as fascinating."

Blinking in surprise, Luke opened his mouth to respond when he glanced across to his father, shutting his mouth again. After a moment, his gaze fell to Reid's hands. He frowned. "When's the last time you treated your hands?"

Blinking in his own surprise, Reid looked down at his hands. He was so used to the constant soreness now; it was definitely still painful but he tried not to pay it any attention. "I don't-"

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Luke said almost angrily, grabbing the wrist of one of the hands in question and tugging Reid to his feet. "Come with me."

Reid let himself be tugged up and towards the house, but he was pretty sure he had no say in the matter anyway. Luke's sudden change in mood was perplexing and interesting. Reid wanted to know more, and bossy Luke was pretty damn hot in the first place.

They received more than a few looks from the people still inside as Luke dragged Reid through the kitchen and then through the door that led upstairs. At the top of the stairs, Luke turned right and then right again, turning into what turned out to be a reasonably-sized bathroom.

Closing the door behind them, Luke lowered the toilet set and pointed at it. "Sit."

Reid sat.

Opening the medical cabinet above the sink, Luke turned back and knelt before Reid, holding up a tube of antiseptic ointment. "We're not exactly a hospital pharmacy," he admitted, "but will this do for now?"

Reid shrugged. "Sure."

"First thing tomorrow, you're going to _Memorial_ to get someone to look at them," Luke instructed, concentrating on unscrewing the lid.

"Okay."

Squeezing some cream out onto the end of his own fingers, Luke put the tube down and started carefully dabbing the ointment onto Reid's knuckles. "They're only your livelihood."

"They are," Reid agreed, watching Luke work carefully and studiously.

"I know there's been...a lot going on, for both of us," Luke said, carefully applying the ointment, "but we should've been paying more attention to your hands. They're so important." Pausing, he looked up, meeting Reid's gaze. "I'm sorry."

As far as Reid was concerned, Luke apologised far too much. "Luke...since this crap happened, I haven't thought about neurosurgery, the Centre, my work - none of it. Not even once."

Biting his bottom lip, Luke blinked through what looked like suddenly suspiciously wet eyes.

"Oh, God, don't get all weepy on me."

"I can't help it!" Luke exclaimed. "It's like you have no idea how romantic you are."

"Romantic?" Reid shuddered. "I wouldn't even know _how_ to be romantic."

"Which is exactly why you are," he replied. "There's no faking it with you, because you don't even know how. It's all real. Sincere. And you can't tell me you don't still want your career."

That was a dumb statement. "Of course I still want my career."

"Then take care of your hands!"

"That's exactly what I'm doing!" Reid replied, shaking the hands in question.

Squinting, Luke huffed at him. "You are infuriating. You're a genius, but you're an idiot who wants to continue his career as a famously successful neurosurgeon without taking care of his hands."

"My hands _are_ being taken care of! Right now! This instant!"

"Only because I insisted!"

"What the hell does that matter? The end result is the same!" He took a breath, completely confused. "Why are we even arguing?" Luke glanced up at him guiltily. Reid's frown deepened. "You're picking a fight with me. On purpose."

Luke didn't answer the question directly, focusing on dabbing the cream onto Reid's hands again. "I know I've just been...going with the flow since you turned up in Louisville, but we never talked about it, you know."

Reid had no idea what the hell was going on. "Talked about what?"

"The fight we had. At Katie's. We never really...resolved it. We were just happy to see each other."

Is that what this was about? "That wasn't a fight. That was two idiots refusing to say how they really feel about each other."

Working on Reid's hands was instantly forgotten. "Really?"

"Of course!" Reid snorted. "Even I could see that. Retrospectively," he admitted. When Luke simply frowned at him, Reid explained. "I thought you were dead, remember? I did all the cliché grieving things - I know, don't even get me started on how much I hate myself for being a cliché. I walked around in a daze. I saw your face everywhere I went. I beat the crap out of my hands. And I replayed each and every conversation we ever had, torturing myself even further - because clearly, I am the idiot you say I am. It didn't take much torturing myself at all to realise we were both running scared." He shrugged, providing another truth. "You're kind of terrifying, Mr Snyder."

Luke swallowed as he stared at him. "You say you're terrified," he replied quietly, "but you're not acting like it right now."

"In any normal situation, I'd probably be running for the hills," Reid admitted, "because I have no idea how to do this. But like I said - you died. After that - phobias that make me act like an irrational fool aside - I can deal with just about anything."

Luke kept staring at him. "You keep saying that you see me as this strong, together guy, and half the time it makes me feel fantastic and half the time I keep waiting for you to realise that I'm really not and push me away."

Just like him, Luke had issues. And it appeared plainly obvious what one of the biggest ones was. "I don't play games, Luke. I'm not him. I'm not that guy." He had no intention of ever treating Luke badly - and especially not the way Noah had. "I'm not Noah."

Staring at him, still, Luke suddenly surged up, smushing his lips against Reid's. Surprised, Reid whacked a hand out, bracing it against the wall to keep his balance. The cream still on Luke's hand smeared onto Reid's face and hair but who gave a damn about that when Luke was getting down with that climbing all over him thing? 

A fist pounded against the door, making them freeze. "Hey! Can you guys hurry it up in there? Some of us actually have to pee instead of rushing off for a quickie!"

Paused with Luke's right hand under his shirt, Reid licked his lips. "Can I have your permission to kill your best friend? Just a little?"

"Not if I get there first," Luke retorted, sighing and regretfully climbing off of Reid's lap.

Really, this wasn't the most hygienic place to be doing this, anyway. Standing up, Reid brushed down his clothes. "To be continued in some place that isn't used to empty Casey Hughes' bladder."

Chuckling, Luke leaned in for a brief peck. "Deal."

As they left the room, Casey gawked at him.

"Uh," Casey lifted his hand near to his own cheek, "you got a little...something. Also... _TMI, guys!_ "

"Casey!" Luke replied, horrified, cheeks flushing red. "We didn't-"

"Whatever you say, dude, whatever you say," Casey held out his hands placatingly. "Just make sure you clean it off before anyone else sees it."

After Casey ducked into the bathroom, Luke manhandled Reid around to get a good look at the left side of his face. "Oh," he said. "Um, it does look kind of bad," he admitted with a slightly embarrassed smile, reaching up to rub the white cream off.

"You should've left it," Reid suggested, amused at the colour of Luke's face. "Imagine watching your parents still trying to like me while I'm walking around with what they think is their son's-"

" _Reid._ "

"-on my face. Yeah?"

"Play nice," Luke instructed, grabbing Reid's wrist again.

Reid was tugged along behind him. "But nice is so _boring_."

He was distracted soon enough when they returned to the table and Reid saw the huge spread now laid out before them. It was truly a sight to behold.

"Wow," Luke commented, seeing his reaction. "I think your eyes are actually turning into plates."

Reid spent the next hour eating. He had to put up with the occasional question from someone, mostly about his career, but for the most part he could just sit there and graze. Emma lived up to her advertising - she really was a fantastic cook and Reid let her know this, at length. She fluttered her eyelashes and thanked him profusely. Luke rolled his eyes. Reid was no fool - from this point on he planned to visit the farm often, and it make sense to butter up the woman who'd be providing the wonderful food.

As dusk began to settle in, candles were placed and lit on the tables. People began to leave, all of them giving Luke and Holden hugs before they went. With a smaller group now, they were all clustered around the one large table and Brad launched into the story of how he and Jack had had a knock-down, drag-out fight one Thanksgiving.

Reid actually knew who Jack was by now and he found himself laughing at the visuals Brad was describing. With a smile on his face, a full stomach, Luke leaning against him and candlelight flickering around them, Reid had to admit it had turned out far better than he'd anticipated.

Luke seemed pretty damn pleased himself, although Reid suspected that most of his happiness at that particular moment in time came from the fact that they were so sitting so close together in front of Luke's family. When Reid had originally leaned in closer, wrapping an arm around Luke's back, Luke had looked faintly shocked at the quiet intimacy happening in front of his parents - but had most definitely not pulled away. If anything, he leaned in further and quickly settled in, obviously pleased to be there.

Reid knew, also, that it hadn't passed Luke's family by. Lily and Holden were sitting together, Ethan sprawled sleepily across his Dad, small arms around Holden's neck. After Luke and Reid leaned in together, they shared a significant look. Lucinda, Emma and Katie all looked happy in different measures - Katie the most emotional, sighing happily, which Reid ascribed to her pregnancy.

Reid knew he was hot, and Luke was definitely hot - but seriously, they were just two guys who were into each other. What was so damn fascinating?

*

When Lucinda made another comment about marriage ("What do you think of gold versus platinum, Dr Oliver?"), Reid rolled his eyes and took the opportunity for a much needed bathroom break. After washing his hands and coming back downstairs, he pushed the door to the kitchen open to find Luke and Emma mid-conversation.

"-feel kind of guilty, I have to admit," Luke was in the middle of saying, and as soon as he heard that, Reid stopped himself from opening the door any further and blatantly eavesdropped. It was pretty obvious that Luke felt guilt about things he was in no way responsible for and he wanted to know if this was another one of those cases.

At the far end of the kitchen while Emma did something food-related, their backs towards him, Luke and Emma continued talking.

"About Noah?" Emma asked. "What on earth for?"

"Grandma, I only just realised he isn't here! Just because we're not together anymore doesn't mean I don't still care about him." Luke wasn't the only one who'd entirely forgetten about Noah. Reid couldn't say that it bothered _him_ in the slightest.

"Luke, after the week you've had, you're entitled to be a little selfish for once. You care so much about other people - you need to take care of yourself, too. In any case, you don't need to worry about Noah," she admitted, "he called not long after we got back to the farm and said that something had come up and he couldn't make it." Reid knew what that 'something' was - his pride. "I didn't tell you, because I knew it would only make you worry. And today is a day for celebrating, not worrying," she smiled broadly, pulling him into a hug. "I'm so very glad you didn't come to harm, sweetheart."

Hugging back, Luke squeezed her tight. Reid suddenly felt absurdly jealous, even if she was a sneaky old broad who hadn't told Luke that Noah had called. In truth, that made her infinitely more appealling.

"Besides," Emma eventually said as she released him, "you've looked so very happy today." She patted his hair down like he was still a kid. "You know I always adored Noah, but...I haven't seen him make you smile like that for a long time."

"Like what?" Luke asked curiously.

"Like the way your Dr Oliver makes you smile," Emma replied, obviously pleased at that piece of information. Bizarrely, Reid felt his own cheeks start to warm up.

As if on cue, Luke suddenly broke out into an earth-shattering grin, glancing down.

"Yes," Emma nodded her approval with a smile, "just like that. He seems like a very nice man."

" _Really?"_ Luke asked immediately, then caught himself. Reid had to stop himself from snorting in amusement. "Um, I just mean, I get the impression most people don't like him straight away. If at all. And he's fine with that. I know I didn't like him."

"Isn't that how all the great one's start?" Emma asked knowingly. "I know it was certainly true of your parents. And oh," she sighed, pressing a hand against her chest, "the things I could tell you about your Grandfather..."

Luke looked surprised. "I thought you and Grandpa Harvey had the perfect marriage?"

"No relationship is perfect," she scolded fondly, letting her hand fall. "That man used to drive me _crazy_."

Luke bit his lip. "Reid says that about me."

She chuckled. "There you are. Harvey and I may have been...combative, sometimes. But we loved each other dearly."

Reaching out a hand, Luke touched her arm. "I wish I could've known him."

"So do I, sweetheart," she replied wistfully. "I think the two of you would've got on very well together. But that's another reason we should love as fully and as often as possible - we never know when someone is going to be taken from us. Goodness knows, Dr Oliver is certainly crazy about you."

"You really think so?"

"Oh, heavens yes. Even if he hadn't run off to Kentucky to find you, all you to have to do is look at the man when he's looking at you. There's nothing else in the world to him in that moment." Reid was definitely feeling uncomfortable. He may have been coming to terms with his feelings for Luke himself, but it still didn't sit comfortably that he apparently had no control whatsoever of what his face was showing when he was with Luke. And it was something else entirely to have Luke's old-fashioned, loving Grandmother declare how obviously gaga Reid was over Luke.

"I'm kinda crazy about him, too," Luke admitted, which wasn't something that Reid didn't know already, but still made him stupidly happy to hear. "And I'm so glad you like him. I was...worried you guys wouldn't like him automatically just because he wasn't like Noah, so soon after Noah. Pretty stupid, huh?"

"Stupid indeed," Emma confirmed, "and didn't I say that today wasn't a day for worrying? Although, I have to say that Dr Oliver rescuing you and your father certainly helped our impression of him. And by the way," she told him, "don't think I haven't forgiven you for not telling me you and Noah had broken up and then I suddenly see you kissing another man at the airport."

Embarrassed, Luke scratched the side of his neck. "Uh, yeah. That's a long story. In any case," he said quickly, obviously eager to change the subject, "I just hope he doesn't get scared off."

"Dr Oliver?"

Luke nodded. "Grandmother keeps talking marriage," he groaned. "They've only just met! We've only just started this... _thing!_ When I called her on it a minute ago, she said 'Luke, he's a _doctor_. And not just any doctor, a _neurosurgeon_. If you insist on staying in this one-horse town, that's the best you're ever going to get'." Luke did a scarily impressive Lucinda impression. "Then," he continued, "she said-" Stopping mid-sentence, as if realising whatever he was about to say might not be appropriate for his present audience, he cleared his throat. "You know what? Never mind."

Oh, now Reid simply _had_ to know. Pushing the door open with enough power to ensure it would create a thump, Reid made his way down the last few steps as Luke and Emma turned towards him.

Luke's face was comical. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to know I would've liked Grandpa Harvey," Reid responded, nodding an acknowledgement at Emma but not tearing his eyes away from Luke as he advanced towards him. "What else did she say?"

"Who?" Luke asked, eyes darting around, trying to create a distraction.

"Lucinda," Reid reminded firmly, coming to a stop in front of him. "What else did she say about me?"

"I think..." Emma announced, "...I'll see if anyone needs anything outside." Clearly a smart woman, she vacated the kitchen as fast as she possibly could.

"There," Reid said, after hearing the screen door slam shut and Luke was still looking at him cautiously, "now it's just the two of us. Go on."

Encouraged, but plainly also a little embarrassed, Luke stumbled through his response. "She said that...you were plainly crazy about me and..."

So far, nothing too startling. And nothing Emma hadn't said herself. "And?"

Swallowing, Luke spat it out. "She said that a man like that, a man like _you_ , would do absolutely anything to keep me happy." He paused. "In bed."

Nothing too startling there either, as far as Reid was concerned. "Your Grandmother's a smart woman."

"Yeah?" Luke asked, grinning slightly.

"Yeah," Reid nodded, amused at Luke's reaction to this whole thing. "You're one hell of a paradox, you know that?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, you," he confirmed. "One minute you're climbing into my lap on the toilet, the next you're embarrassed because your Grandmother thinks I'm a generous lover. She's right, by the way," he added, because that was something important that needed to be shared. "I know I already covered that, but I think it's for the best if you're left in no doubt whatsoever about my awesome skills in the sack."

Laughing, flushing - Reid was still crazily proud of himself for prompting that reaction whenever it happened - Luke shook his head in disbelief. "You're something else."

"It's true, I am," Reid acknowledged, moving in closer.

Luke didn't back away, grinning at him almost shyly. "Generous lover, huh?"

"Generous," Reid confirmed, "amazing, astounding."

"Careful, Dr Oliver," Luke teased, leaning in, hands resting either side of Reid's waist, "you might not live up to your own hype."

"Impossible," Reid shook his head minutely, "I'm a neurosurgeon."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Luke asked, forehead creasing together just inches from Reid's.

"I'm good with my hands," Reid breathed, the hands in question coming up to splay across the sides of Luke's neck, then sliding up to cup his face.

Eyes fluttering closed, Luke made a noise and Reid suddenly felt a hand on the back of his head, pushing him towards Luke. He more than went with it, and the kiss that followed was everything the moment had been building to. Luke kissed him like he'd been _starving_ for it, like Reid was the rain after a year-long drought, like he'd never really been kissed before and he was just now discovering something new and amazing.

It was surprisingly terrifying. Reid had never been terrified by a kiss before.

But he kissed Luke back with as much passion, as much emotion as he could muster, because a kiss that open deserved nothing less in return. He couldn't see anything but Luke, couldn't taste anything but Luke and when their lips finally parted, Reid's eyes were closed and Luke's voice was barely audible.

"Reid," he panted quietly, sounding awed, "you're shaking."

And his first instinct was to pull away, to run as far as he could from this kid with the stupid hair and even bigger issues, but he fought against it. Opened his eyes. Swallowed. Smiled.

Because Luke wasn't the only one discovering something new and amazing.

"That kiss was something else, Mr Snyder," Reid tried to joke, but his voice came out wrong, mangled.

Making an understanding face - _it's okay, you're not alone in this. I'm scared, too_ \- Luke tipped his head to one side and smoothed a hand down Reid's shirt. "It sure was, Dr Oliver."

And that feeling was in his chest again; a living, burning monster inside that was able to rip apart his insides - and he knew that it could. Because it already had when he'd thought Luke was dead and here it was again, this time re-building him from the inside out, brick by brick, step by step. With every touch, every smile from Luke, every moment adding something new, changing him fundamentally into something more than he'd been before.

He knew then, instantly, that Katie had been right.

This was love.

*

Luke was staring at him, one hand on Reid's shoulder, the other still playing with his hair, Luke's fingers absently moving through the faint curls at the base of Reid's skull.

Closing his eyes in an attempt to focus, to reign in the staggering _emotion_ running through him, Reid leaned forward, resting forehead to forehead with Luke. It'd started off as a joke, to tease Luke about what to expect when it came to sex - but the joke had been on him when Luke had kissed him.

Reid had had a few sexual partners but not as many as he could have, medicine becoming his focus. Still, he'd definitely experienced what he'd classify as great sex - but none of them had ever kissed Reid the way Luke had just kissed him.

That ridiculous, sappy sentiment he'd always scoffed at was now looking like it was actually true: it was better with someone you loved.

Even a week ago he would've been scared shitless of the way Luke made him feel, torn between wanting him near and pushing him away. Now, he was still scared shitless, but there was no possible consideration of doing anything other than ensuring Luke was around at all times.

It was ridiculous. It was undoubtedly co-dependent. It went against everything he'd told himself to do in life.

Ironically, it seemed his personal analysis of love had been spot on. It did make you do stupid, probably illegal things. It did make you act irrationally. It was definitely terrifying.

The one thing he hadn't counted on was how _good_ it could feel.

"Reid?" Luke asked carefully, almost hesitantly, the hand in Reid's hair sliding down slightly, nails scraping gently across the skin there.

Reid shivered.

Opening his mouth, Reid paused, wanting to say something but for once not having the right words. He was no writer, not of anything that required any actual writing skill, but he still prided himself on being verbally quick-witted, on being able to produce words in an instant that could cut and destroy, amuse and enlighten. More and more often, it seemed, just being around Luke rendered him mute.

Conversely, Luke was now one of the people he'd spoken to the most in his entire life.

These contradictions - especially in a man so usually sure of himself - were maddening.

And intoxicating.

"Luke," he finally said, "I-"

The sound of a car engine outside intruded on the moment, making them both turn their heads towards the porch. A sea of faces greeted them through the window into the porch, where it seemed nearly everyone who'd been seated around the table was watching them.

Luke laughed. Reid scowled.

They scattered like spooked animals, sudden incredibly interested in anything that wasn't in the kitchen and Reid was pretty sure he heard Natalie's voice demanding to know what they'd all been looking at and that whatever it was she wanted to see it, too.

"Starting them early with watching the man-on-man action," Reid nodded agreeably, "I approve."

"Reid!" Luke made a horrified face. "That's my sister!"

"Relax," he drawled, thankful that he could focus on something less _emotional_ , for now, "it's not like we've actually got a porn movie going on in here." A wicked thought flashed across his mind. "Although..." He leaned in deliberately. "Mr Snyder, I've...come to repair your refrigerator."

Luke couldn't hide his smile, although he made an extremely poor attempt at doing so. "You'd be a lousy refrigerator repair man," he argued, "you'd just eat all the food before it went bad."

"Hey, that's clearly a better idea than _wasting food_ ," Reid pointed out, before slipping back into his role. "Have you seen my big tool, Mr Snyder? I seem to have misplaced it."

Flushing clear to the tips of his ears like he couldn't quite believe they were having this conversation in his family's kitchen with his family just outside, Luke bit his bottom lip for a moment. "If you can't find it yourself, serf, you're clearly doing it wrong."

Surprised into laughing, Reid grinned at him. "The selfish rich guy and his handy man? I like it. We'll have to work on that more. It'll definitely be a best seller."

Luke was just looking like he really, really liked that idea and Reid was just thinking that he'd really, really like to kiss him again when the door to the kitchen creaked open.

Reid wished he'd never turned to look when he saw Barbara Ryan standing in the doorway. More accurately, she was glaring in the doorway as if the power of her own glare was enough to keep her upright.

His good mood evaporated in an instant. Reid had been hoping to put this encounter off until tomorrow; give himself at least one good night with Luke before reality forced its way back in. Apparently, it wasn't meant to be.

"Dr Oliver," she pronounced with the same kind of enunciation anyone else would use with 'scumbag', her gaze flicking between the two of them before settling back on Reid. "I'm sorry to interrupt on what's clearly a...personal moment for you, but I need to talk to you urgently about Paul." She still had the concerned mother act down pat. Reid rolled his eyes at it again.

"That's fine," Luke immediately offered, which of _course_ he did. Now wasn't the time, but Luke would have to be brought up to date with the situation with Barbara at some point. She certainly didn't deserve any of his boundless generosity.

Regretfully moving away from Luke for many, many reasons, Reid forced a twisted smile onto his face. "Shall we have some privacy, Mrs Ryan?" he suggested, gesturing towards the family room.

"That's an _excellent_ idea, Doctor," she agreed with a distinct chill, walking briskly past him and into the other room. Sharing a look and a nod with Luke, Reid joined her.

He didn't even wait for her to turn around. "Look, I already know what you're going to say," he began, "yes, I went out of town without your 'permission'," he actually created air quotes with his fingers, "and, quite frankly, I don't give a crap." Amazing as it seemed, Reid had discovered that there was something more important than his career. "If you think-"

"The police are going to arrest Paul," she blurted out, back still towards him.

That he had definitely not been expecting. The last he knew about anything, Paul had still been settling into life at _Fairwinds_ and flirting with Emily on a regular basis. "I've only been out of town two days." What the hell had Paul been up to since yesterday morning? But then, this was Oakdale. Nothing should surprise him.

"It's for the explosion," Barbara explained. "Margo came to see him this morning. They've been spending all this time combing through the debris and they say they've found proof that the explosion was set intentionally - and that something ties Paul directly to it."

They seriously thought Paul was responsible for the explosion that almost killed him? That'd be nicely ironic, but Reid just didn't buy it. He thought of the guy who'd asked him about love, who could tell when Reid had been moping...was frustrated at Luke. It just didn't fit what he knew of Paul Ryan. "What's the evidence?"

"Apparently," she huffed, "they've found a piece of the trigger mechanism intact. Paul's fingerprints are all over it."

That was...actually extremely convenient. "Clear, whole fingerprints?"

Barbara frowned at him. "She didn't specify. Does that matter?"

It could well do. "What would be his motivation?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Behind the explosion. Why are they saying Paul would be behind it?"

She made a face. "The explosion took place in a warehouse where he was apparently due to meet with Dusty Donovan." Ohh, that guy with the unfortunate name. Everyone in this town was connected, somehow. "They have...let's say, not been getting along, lately. Something of a rivalry had developed between them."

"So they think Paul tried to off him, but it literally blew up in his face."

"Exactly," she confirmed, "and given Paul's less than pleasant history..."

Yeah, that didn't look good. "We need to see the evidence."

"You think he's innocent?" she asked immediately, obviously surprised.

"Mrs Ryan," he replied, "your son is one of the only people I've encountered in this town who isn't a complete moron. Even if he was responsible for the explosion, there's no way he'd be stupid enough to set it off accidentally and injure himself, and he definitely wouldn't have handled the device without gloves." She seemed pleased. Reid had to do something about that. "I take it you came here to make more of your usual demands?" he continued. "Get my son his memories back, save the universe with one hand tied behind your back, bow to my every whim, etc etc?"

"Something like that," she admitted. "Paul still has no memory of anything at all, let alone the explosion itself. If he could remember, maybe he could do something; provide the police with some kind of information to prove his innocence."

It was a slim chance, but still a chance. "I'll continue doing what I can," he nodded, "but I suggest you get yourself a good lawyer - if one actually exists in this godforsaken town - and demand to get a look at the evidence ASAP." When she kept frowning at him, he frowned right back. "What?"

"You're offering to help," she said suspiciously, "of your own free will."

"And you didn't have to make any threats at all," Reid retorted, "imagine that." He sighed. "Look, Ryan's Mother, we may not like each other but even I don't want a potentially innocent man to go to jail. Frankly," he admitted, "I'm just as surprised that you haven't threatened to kill my career after I broke your precious little rules about not leaving town."

"Yes, well," she sniffed, "I am not unfeeling." That was true, at least. In fact, Reid suspected Barbara Ryan felt a little _too_ much. "Bringing two men back from the dead has made you the talk of the town. Attacking you right now would only make me look suspicious." That sounded more like the Barbara Ryan he knew and loathed. "And besides," she told him, "it can only be good for my situation that you seem to be developing a...bond," Barbara smirked as she glanced towards the kitchen, "for certain people in Oakdale. It seems that, with my 'influence' or not, you could well be staying in town for the foreseeable future, anyway." Smoothly picking up one end of her silk scarf and flicking it around her neck, Barbara walked away. "Goodbye, Doctor. Rest assured, I'll be contacting you soon."

Reid wasn't exactly thrilled at the idea but quite remarkably, that was the best interaction he'd ever had with her (and by best he meant, he only rolled his eyes once). Maybe he could actually get through this farce without losing his medical license. Feeling surprisingly optimistic, Reid was about to follow her out of the room in search of Luke, hoping to continue their Arrogant Rich Guy/Hot Handy Man scenario, when another woman walked in.

Just as scary as Barbara.

Meg Snyder.

Everyone else had been so thrilled at Luke and Holden's miraculous return, at Reid's alleged bravery and stunning heroics, that they'd seemed to have completely forgotten that Reid was pretty much directly responsible for putting Meg's current boyfriend in jail.

Neither Reid or Meg had forgotten. They'd both been doing their best to avoid each other all day, Meg sitting as far aware from him as possible at all times, although he'd certainly seen the glare she'd sent him whenever their gazes accidentally crossed paths. What the hell was he supposed to say? _Hey, great to see ya! Sorry I got your boyfriend locked up in the slammer. Emma makes great pies, right?_

Reid sucked at small talk at the best of times. This was something else entirely.

" _You_ ," she hissed, stalking towards him, "are going to do everything in your power to ensure that Paul doesn't end up in prison. You've already taken one man I love from me. You are _not_ taking the father of my child. If you do," Meg continued, eyes bulging so much Reid wondered if she was on something, "I will _destroy_ you." With one last glare she spun away, hair fanning out dramatically behind her.

Watching her go, Reid sighed. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same. It just wouldn't be Oakdale if someone wasn't threatening to ruin him.

At least Oakdale had a few - okay, one - advantage, and it came strolling towards him now, somehow smiling and frowning at the same time.

"What did Aunt Meg want?"

"Oh, you know," Reid shrugged, "no hard feelings about Damian, yadda yadda."

Luke looked surprised, like even he knew what a nutcase his aunt was. "And Barbara Ryan?"

He really didn't want to get into this right now. Tomorrow. Tomorrow would be his step back into the real world. "She wanted to know if she could film our hot, hot porno."

Breaking out into laughter, Luke opened his mouth - sadly, only to respond verbally - when Katie peeked into the room.

"Hey guys. I'm not intruding on anything, am I?" She grinned hopefully, clearly wishing that she _was_ intruding on something.

"Yes, actually," Reid replied, "we were about to participate in very hot and very gay sex right in front of you."

"Reid!"

Reid really enjoyed doing anything he could to make Luke react that way.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Dr Oliver," Katie winked. "Anyway, Brad and I are leaving soon and we wanted to check if you needed a ride." She looked expectantly between them, clearly hoping he wouldn't need a ride, still grinning - seriously, it was like her teeth were glued together. It was kind of freaky.

Frankly, Reid couldn't imagine anything worse than walking away from Luke right now (and _wow_ , was he right about the co-dependency). Luke, at least, looked like he felt the same, and after a few moments of frowning he rushed out of the room with a "Berightback!"

Reid and Katie looked at each other. Reid shrugged.

Slowly following behind Luke, Reid pushed through both doors that led outside to see Luke in a heated discussion with Emma.

"-not like we're going to _do_ anything," Luke was saying urgently. "Especially with like the entire Snyder family under the same roof." Reid frowned, wondering how on earth they'd fit that many people into one house.

"Luke, you know the rules of the house-"

"Come on, Grandma, you know I'm like the _only_ person in our entire family who hasn't broken them." There were house rules? Emma was certainly living up to Reid's impression of her being old-fashioned. That wasn't an inherently bad thing, but right now? Bad. Very, very bad. Sharing a bed with Luke was good.

Very, very good.

She scoffed. "That still doesn't mean it's right, Luke."

"Doesn't he get special dispensation or something? He did save us from Damian," he reminded, grinning sweetly, lifting his eyebrows up and down rapidly.

Emma smiled slightly, clearly charmed despite herself.

"Cut them a break, Momma," Holden called out from the table, where everyone had re-situated themselves and were blatantly listening in. "They're both grown men."

"It's not like either one of them can end up pregnant!" Brad called out.

"Brad!" Katie seemed to spend most of her time admonishing Brad for one reason or another. When he realised just how similar that made them to him and Luke, Reid was disturbed - and then realised Brad might've been saying stupid things deliberately to get a rise out of Katie. Just like he did with Luke.

Which made him like Brad. Which was even more disturbing.

"What?" Brad shrugged. "I'm just trying to help."

"Oh my God," Faith moaned, "I do not need to think about my brother getting pregnant."

Natalie wrinkled her nose in confusion. "How would the baby come out?"

"I'm glad you asked, Nat," Brad declared, "I've always thought the butt would be a viable-"

"BRAD!"

Shaking her head, still smiling faintly, Emma gave in. "Very well. Just this once," she pointed out.

"Thank you so much, Grandma!" Luke enthused, throwing his arms around her and causing her to laugh lightly.

"When I see how happy it makes you," she told him fondly, touching his face as he pulled back, "I can see nothing wrong with it at all."


	2. Chapter 2

Given the special occasion, the kids who were able to were allowed to stay up past their regular bedtime. Ethan had long since passed his limit, but the other kids - Luke's siblings and various cousins (one of them had a food-related name, Reid remembered that much. Thyme or something equally preposterous. Paprika?). Eventually, however, and much to Reid's relief, the cousins disappeared off home with their mother and Luke's sisters were instructed to get ready for bed.

Faith, the oldest - and plainly living up to the title of teenager - literally flounced across the kitchen, announcing to all and sundry about how unfair it was that she was being treated the same as her little brother and sister. After all, she was clearly so much more _mature_ and _well-behaved_.

Suddenly re-thinking his intention of staying at the farm if he had that to contend with in the morning, Reid watched with a grimace as Lily tried - and failed - to get her eldest daughter to co-operate.

What happened next was either a divine act of magic or God - Reid wasn't sure which, because he'd yet to believe in either one. Luke walked calmly over to his hysterical sister, laid his hands on her shoulders and spoke to her quietly. It was hard to make out exactly what was being said, but Reid definitely heard the words, "know how much I need your help, Faith."

Faith huffed, and she puffed, and generally did an excellent impression of a fictional wolf, but eventually relented, pulling away from Luke and holding out a hand to her sister.

"Come on, brat."

"I'm not a brat," Natalie argued automatically, but took her sister's hand anyway and let herself be led through the door upstairs.

Lily sighed as she moved towards Luke, wrapping her arms around him. "Thank you so much, sweetheart. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Reid frowned as he watched the interaction, but as the deeper meaning of Lily's words settled in on both Snyder's, they both got all weepy, holding on to each other tighter.

"He is _never_ taking you from me again," Lily vowed fiercely, pulling back to smile at Luke emotionally, petting his hair.

Reid frowned even harder.

After Luke had assured Lily of his eternal devotion - or something that seemed equally creepy, anyway - she excused herself to help Holden get ready for the night.

Jack - the cop, who'd grilled Reid earlier on his fighting technique, although Reid had had the suspicion the entire time that he was being quietly mocked - had been talking with Emma in the family room and when he walked back into the kitchen, Luke hurried over to him.

"I have a favour to ask," he began, fixing Jack with a ridiculously optimistic gaze.

Sitting down on a chair, Jack slapped an open palm on the kitchen table. "Shoot."

"I promised Dad I'd help out at the farm until he was up and around, but first thing tomorrow Reid needs to get his hands checked out at the hospital-"

Reid opened his mouth to intervene - much as he now admitted to liking Luke's company, he didn't need someone to actually hold his hand while said hands were being examined by a medical professional - but Jack beat him to it.

"Don't worry about it, kid," he said immediately. "You know everyone who stays here helps out, anyway. I'll cover for you tomorrow morning, no problem."

Everyone who stayed there helped out on the farm? Reid stared down in horror at his already injured hands, picturing these pieces of brilliance, these givers of life milking cows or shovelling manure.

Obviously noticing his reaction, Jack laughed as he got up from the chair, slapping Reid on the back. "Relax, Doc. Heroes get the day off. But just the first one," he winked, still chuckling to himself when his cell started ringing. Pulling it out and answering the call, he turned away.

At least Reid would never name _his_ kid after a type of food seasoning. And he was a particularly big fan of food.

Not that Reid would ever have a kid to name in the first place.

After trying to thank Jack - who waved him off, still on the phone to someone named Carly who was plainly the mother of his children but plainly not currently married to their father (Luke said it was 'complicated'. Every time Reid asked about any relationship in Oakdale, all he ever got told was that it was 'complicated') - Luke grabbed Reid's wrist and raised his eyebrows upward significantly.

Forgetting all about Jack, Carly and Coriander (or whatever the hell that name was), Reid was right behind him. There ended up being a fight over the single bathroom which, while decently sized, was still the only bathroom in the house. In the end it turned into a comedy of errors, with people seeing body parts they shouldn't and Faith announcing loudly that she was traumatised for life just by catching a glimpse of Reid topless.

In the end, Reid was extremely grateful to escape into what was their room for the night. For one thing, they miraculously had it all to themselves. Two, it had a decently-sized bed, large enough for both of them.

"This used to be my room," Luke explained as he slowly approached the right side of the bed, "before we moved out of the farm and into the house in town."

That made sense. Although Reid couldn't see much sign of Luke in the room now, this was the same room Noah had been sitting in, staring at the picture of them together.

That'd only been yesterday morning. When he looked over at Luke now, who was smiling slightly even as the fingers of his right hand nervously played with the bottom of his shirt, it felt like a lifetime ago.

Speaking of Noah, when Reid glanced over to the bedside table he saw the same picture Noah had been looking at, obviously forgotten about and left behind. Reaching out a careful hand, Reid picked the photograph up and studied it. When he looked up, Luke was watching him with concern, studying his reaction carefully.

Opening the drawer, Reid placed the picture inside.

Closing it with a definitive thump, he then nodded towards the bed. "So, the rules apply to everyone, apart from superheroes?"

A relieved smile broke out across Luke's face. "Pretty much."

Nodding thoughtfully, Reid casually started un-buttoning his shirt. "I'm beat." It was the truth, but also reassurance for Luke - nothing was going to happen tonight. Not with his entire nuclear family under the same roof. Even Reid had his limits.

The words worked their magic, and as soon as Reid spoke them Luke stopped looking nervous and all but ripped his own shirt from his chest. Reid was amused, but he was more distracted by the hair on Luke's chest. He didn't usually care for furrier men but just like with everything else, Luke seemed to be the exception.

It didn't take them long to get settled in and soon Reid was leaning over, turning off the lamp on the bedside table. Moonlight seeped in around the edges of the curtain and after a minute or so of his eyes adjusting, Reid could see Luke's face almost perfectly.

"It wasn't so bad, tonight, was it?" Luke asked, snuggling up to him.

Horrified at himself for even thinking the word snuggling, Reid tried to distract himself by answering the question. And copping a feel. "It wasn't a completely traumatic experience." The less said about Meg Snyder, the better. He half-thought he'd wake up in the middle of the night to see her standing over the bed with a knife.

"Reid..."

"Hmm?" he responded, laying there, pondering if he'd ever shared a bed with anyone who generated as much heat as Luke did. It'd be awesome in the winter, but much less convenient in the height of summer.

"Your hand is on my ass."

Reid was well aware of that fact. "Is it?" he asked innocently. "I wonder how that happened?"

"Uh huh," Luke grinned knowingly, even as a hand came up to guide Reid's face towards his. The kiss was short, but still enjoyable and Reid wrinkled his nose in disappointment when it came to an end.

Sighing, Luke settled against him, absently running his fingers over Reid's chest. The sighed sounded suspiciously mope-y.

"What's that Snyder gerbil in your head currently thinking?"

"It's been trying _not_ to think."

Curious. "About?"

He sighed again. "Damian."

It hadn't escaped Reid's notice that barely anyone had uttered that name all day, as if merely mentioning his name would make him appear.

"I still don't get why he did it," Luke continued, "or, well..." He paused. "I can see why he'd want Dad out of the picture. He's always loved Mom - he's even admitted as much to me. And with Dad out of the way..." Luke sighed. "But getting rid of me, too? Despite everything he's done I still believe, even now, that he cares about me. True, he probably cares about me in some weird, obsessive Grimaldi way instead of like normal people, but he does love me. He loves me. I'm not imagining that; I know I'm not." He sounded absolutely certain, convinced.

Reid had no reason to doubt him. And totally agreed with Damian caring about Luke in some weird, obsessive Grimaldi way. "So why did he do what he did?" he asked rhetorically.

" _Exactly!_ " Luke moved around under the covers, getting agitated.

"Hey, hey," Reid warned, "if you start thumping this bed against the wall, I am not taking the heat in the morning."

Pausing, Luke finally managed to produce a small smile. He flopped back down next to Reid. "Are you sure you can handle all the drama in my family?" he asked honestly.

"No choice," Reid shrugged, tucking an arm around him.

Luke snuggled - dammit - moved in closer. He slotted into place very, very comfortably. "Why's that?"

"That weird, obsessive way you Grimaldi's apparently having of caring about someone?"

"Yeah?"

"Seems to have transferred to me," he admitted. "Although I'd be interested to know which scientific process it used to infect me. Osmosis, heat transfer, airborne particles, bodily fluids..."

Luke's teeth stood out against the relative darkness of his face. "For a man who claims to hate talking to people," he said sweetly, "somehow you always know the right thing to say."

"Nah," Reid disagreed, "you just think everything I say is awesome because you're nuts about me."

Playing along, Luke made a show of considering Reid's words. "That _is_ true."

"See? Case in point. Anything I say you agree with. Repeat after me: Noah Mayer is an idiot."

Laughing, Luke scolded him fondly. So fondly, in fact, it was barely worth scolding him at all. "Reid..."

"...is a genius?" he finished.

"Reid..."

"...is right about everything, ever?"

Grinning, Luke played along. "Reid..."

"...expects a huge sandwich to be waiting for him when he gets up in the morning?"

Disappointingly, Luke shook his head negatively. "Reid..."

"...doesn't need to exaggerate about the size of any part of his anatomy, because his physical form is perfection incarnate?"

Still chuckling, Luke shook his head. "Reid..."

"...when he isn't talking about himself in the third person?" Reid finally asked. "Spends most of his time thinking how lucky he is that Luciano Eduardo Grimaldi - seriously, what the hell is that name about? - sees anything in him worth caring about." He paused deliberately. "In a weird, obsessive, Grimaldi way."

Reid had barely finished speaking before Luke was rolling on top of him, kissing him thoroughly and enthusiastically. Reid kissed back with as much enthusiasm and when it ended, Luke stayed still awkwardly splayed on top of him, fingers digging into Reid's hair. "Thank you."

Reid didn't think he could've looked away from Luke at that moment even if for some insane reason he actually wanted to. "For what?"

"For cheering me up. Don't think I don't know what you were doing, Dr Oliver. You're not as clever as you think," he teased.

"In that case I'll hand my diploma in the next time I go to Genius School," he offered. "Now, get some rest, Mr Snyder. You're still exhausted - don't pretend you aren't, I can see the bags under your eyes - and you can fret needlessly over Bad Dad tomorrow."

Sighing, Luke nonetheless shifted again until he was pressed against Reid's side. "I can't decide if Bossy Reid is hot or not."

"I'm always hot," was Reid's only possible reply.

Tomorrow, Reid would have to get his hands looked at, somehow deal with his career and prove Paul innocent. Luke was probably going to have to face Noah and face the damage his biological father had wrought, trying to comprehend the reasons behind it. Tomorrow, it was back to the real world. For both of them.

Until then...

"Hey, Luke."

"What?"

"I think I was actually too tired last night to even notice, but..."

"What is it?"

"Do you snore?"

*

When Reid woke up the next morning, Luke was snoring quietly against his shoulder. Smiling to himself despite the fact that his right arm had apparently lost all feeling - Luke was well-built in several ways - Reid relaxed back against the bed.

The sun obviously came up on this side of the house, bright light filtering into the room from around the edges of thick curtains.

It was remarkable how much his life had changed over the course of a few days, the way his priorities had completely shifted. Today, he had to face the consequences of his own actions - he was not looking forward to the phone call he'd have to make later - but with Luke pressed up against him, alive and drooling on his shoulder, he found he couldn't regret it. He was even aware of how sappy that was, and even though he still had a less than favourable reaction towards certain mushy words, the feeling behind them? Was definitely there and not something he was going to fight against when he got to wake up to mornings like this.

Reid had just started to doze again when a light knock disturbed his nap. Blinking open his eyes, he looked across the room to see Lily pushing open the door, peering around the edge. For some reason she seemed vaguely shocked that they were actually in bed together, despite the fact that everyone in the house knew they'd been given permission.

Reid couldn't believe he'd just thought that phrase with no sarcasm whatsoever.

"Oh, excuse me, Dr Oliver," Lily spoke quietly. "Emma's about to start breakfast and given how...enthusiastic," she grinned, the image of her son, "you were about eating yesterday, I thought you might be interested."

That was...nice of her. And the idea of eating more of Emma's impressive food made his stomach rumble. But...

He glanced down at Luke's still form, thought of the dark smudges probably still beneath his eyes. "I'm good," he announced, probably a little too loudly because Luke suddenly stopped snoring, shifting against Reid and ultimately resting his arm further across Reid's chest.

He and Lily both waited in what was really a ridiculously tense silence, staring first at Luke, then each other. When it seemed like Luke wasn't going to wake up after all, Reid slowly let out the breath he'd been holding.

Regarding him with a certain amount of what couldn't possibly be but certainly looked like fondness, Lily then nodded her silent assent before stepping back out, pulling the door quietly shut behind her. Reid closed his eyes to settle back into sleep and when he opened them again sometime later, Luke was staring at him.

Reid lifted his eyebrows. "Yeah, that's not creepy at all."

Grinning, Luke leaned in, brushing his nose against Reid's. "Morning."

Reid finally smiled in return. "Morning."

Luke must have removed his weight from Reid's arm at some point before Reid woke up, because that was the moment sensation started rushing back in.

Reid bitched for a good two minutes about the agony of suffering pins and needles, how it was all Luke's fault for apparently not being able to sleep with someone without literally sleeping on top of them.

Luke either outright ignored him or acted like he didn't care, pulling his clothes on (Reid caught a very distracting flash of his ass) and generally keeping himself busy. When Reid made the comment, however, that if this relationship was going to last for decades then they needed find some kind of compromise (okay, so what he actually said was, "If we're staying together for the rest of our lives, we'll have to try - ugh - _spooning_ or something, because constantly having the blood supply to my right arm being cut off by your literal dozey ass will not do my surgical skills any damn good.") Luke froze, halfway through tugging his shirt on.

When he realised exactly what he'd just said, implied, Reid finished yanking his pants on and made for the door. "Breakfast!" he announced desperately, because yeah, he didn't mind Luke knowing he was crazy about him, but the whole forever thing? Just a slightly bigger deal.

Surprisingly, Luke didn't mention it again. He didn't mention it over the amazing breakfast Emma had saved for them, didn't mention it when they freshened up in the bathroom, didn't mention it when they loaded the robes into the trunk of the car, and he didn't mention it when they started the drive to the hospital, either.

But he did have a small smile on his face the entire time.

Luke's car was this cute, little black thing that matched him perfectly. In the way that dogs inevitably ended up looking like their owners - or vice versa - Luke's car somehow looked just like Luke. Reid decided not to share this observation with him, because he knew the mocking would be endless and he'd undoubtedly be referred to as 'adorable' or something equally hideous.

Luke was an extremely good, careful driver, and when Reid mentioned this, Luke rattled off a long list of car accidents suffered by people he knew, family members and himself personally. While Reid wasn't surprised, he did become intrigued when Luke suddenly clammed up, before finally admitting that after his last 'accident' - he was the victim of a hit and run. Reid didn't know how Luke had a single body part still intact - it was Damian who found him and took him to the hospital.

"He told me that he wanted a second chance," he said quietly, "to make up for all the mistakes he'd made before. Guess he was lying," Luke shrugged, like it didn't hurt him. Reid knew better.

As usually happened, when Reid and Luke strolled into the hospital, it didn't take them long to find Bob. On the way they did pass a few members of staff, however, who obviously hadn't heard the good news and watching their varying reactions to Luke's presence was extremely entertaining. One guy literally walked into a wall.

Bob's reaction when he finally saw them was less surprising, but almost as entertaining.

"Luke!" he called out in the middle of the corridor, breaking out into the biggest smile Reid had ever seen him produce. "I heard the good news about you and your father - it's remarkable," he said, placing a hand on Luke's shoulder in awe, "truly remarkable. Losing either one of you would've been a great loss to Oakdale."

Shrugging with a smile, Luke replied. "Thanks, Bob. That's nice of you to say."

"It's the truth," Bob retorted. "And Reid," he continued, dropping his arm from Luke's shoulder and turning towards him, "it's my understanding that you found them? And foiled the kidnapping?"

Reid was all for making fun of his current status as a hero, but dealing with any genuine emotion behind it still wasn't the way he preferred to spend his time. "Uh, yeah. I guess so."

"I guess so?" Luke repeated. "You only broke the guy's nose."

"Well then," Bob continued, sounding impressed, "in that case, I think I'll forgo the warning notice for vanishing from work for days without at least calling in sick." His eyes were doing that weird twinkling thing again. "Your patients are waiting for you whenever-"

"Uh, actually," Reid interrupted, lifting his hands which Bob obviously hadn't noticed yet. "Slight problem."

Carefully touching the left hand, Bob leaned in, inspecting it closely. "Goodness me."

A few minutes later they were in an exam room, Bob studying each of Reid's hands under a magnifying lamp. Reid was sitting on the edge of the bed, Bob was sitting in a chair and Luke stood off to one side, watching everything with eager eyes.

Making an occasional sound of interest, Bob then started asking questions. "Luke said you broke someone's nose, is that right?"

"Yeah."

Nodding thoughtfully, Bob kept his head bent down. "With your right hand?"

"Yeah."

Bob nodded some more. "This is the result of more than once punch."

That it was. "Yeah."

"I take it these were received in the line of duty?" he teased, trying to make a joke out of it.

Reid at least appreciated the effort. "Something like that." He wouldn't be surprised if Bob had heard all about his breakdown in the gym.

Bob made a 'hmm' noise. "How's your pain level?"

"The right hand hurts more, obviously. And when I say hurt more, I mean it throbs all the damn time. The left isn't as bad, but still hurts. I can operate a fork without being in agony, though, and that's all that really matters."

Luke chuckled.

Eventually, Bob pushed the lamp to one side. "You've been extremely lucky," he told Reid, looking up at him, "you've only broken the skin in a few places and - so far - there's no sign of infection. I doubt there'll be any permanent damage, although we'll of course need to get an expert to look at them later. What your hands need most is rest. No more punching things. Even to aid kidnapped Snyder's," he added, throwing a smile towards Luke.

Reid had suspected the same, but he had to admit that it was a relief to get a second opinion saying as much. "Given how often crazy stuff happens in this town? There's pretty much no way I'm going to agree to that." Irrational as it was, Reid knew that one of the reasons he hadn't wanted to be separated from Luke since finding him is that he was half-convinced that if he looked away even for a moment, Luke would vanish again.

"That being said," Bob rebuked, largely ignoring the comment, "they do need to be treated to a greater degree than they've been treated so far. You won't be able to operate for a while, Dr Oliver," he held his gaze, conveying what they both knew Reid had to do.

He was already well aware of that fact. "I know."

When Bob started gathering supplies to treat Reid's hands, Reid tried to wave him off. "Bob, get one of your underlings to do this. It's not like they're any good at anything else."

"Oh no, Dr Oliver," Bob said warmly, wheeling his chair back into place, "kidnap foilers get the Chief of Staff treatment."

"Foilers?" Reid asked, even as he held the first hand out towards Bob. "Bob, you're Chief of Staff. You're an educated man - although maybe I'm assuming too much, this _is_ Oakdale, after all - and you're using words that don't actually exist?"

"If you'd thought it up, Dr Oliver," Bob argued quietly, gently tugging Reid's hand towards him, "you'd think it was brilliant."

That was completely true.

Ten minutes later, Reid's hands were done and Bob had left them alone in the room.

"You should see your face right now," Luke pointed out, clearly greatly amused at Reid's distress.

"I thought the one good point of having a boyfriend is that they're supposed to care about you when you're going through a difficult time."

"This is a difficult time?" Luke asked snidely.

Well, that wasn't very supportive or loving. "My fingers look like sausages!" he retorted, holding them out before him. "Wrapped in paper napkins!" They were so _pretty_ before. Well, they were even prettier before he went about trying to destroy that punching bag. But at least that was for a good reason.

"Mmm, yummy," Luke murmured disturbingly. Reid made a face. "Look," Luke said, "you've been the big hero," he grinned as he said it, leaning in to kiss Reid's cheek. "Now you have to face the big consequences. Speaking of which," Luke sighed, losing his smile, "I need to find out what's happening at the foundation - and Grimaldi Shipping."

"Are you going to keep working there?" Reid asked, surprised. He couldn't imagine Luke wanting to after everything Damian had done.

"I have no idea," Luke shrugged, "I don't even know if I still can. With Damian out of action, there's probably been some kind of coup in the company already." Sighing some more, he glanced regretfully towards the door. "I really hate being an adult sometimes."

"Tell me about it," Reid sympathised. But at least... "But at the end of the day..."

Slowly turning back towards him, Luke's smile returned. "At the end of the day..." he repeated, leaning in for another kiss.

At least he could still bend his sausage fingers slightly to grab onto Luke's side. "Contact me," Reid instructed, "every hour."

"I don't even have your number," Luke mentioned, startled at this piece of information. "And I don't have my phone anymore...give me yours." Shrugging, Reid slowly unlocked it - stupid sausage fingers - and handed it over. Luke worked on it for a minute or so before handing it back. Taking it, Reid read the information on the screen.

_Luke Temp No.  
754-555-6866_

"It's Grandmother's," Luke explained, "I'll probably be with her for most of the day, anyway. Call me in an hour and I'll get your number."

They both just kind of _hesitated_. Yes, it was pathetic, but at least Reid wasn't the only one doing so.

"This is stupid," Reid said suddenly.

"We can do this," Luke agreed.

Eyeing each other, they lunged together at pretty much the same moment. Reid _hated_ the impractical bandages on his fingers, preventing him from really _feeling_ Luke - but least it didn't change just how damn good the kiss was. Eventually wrenching away, Luke mumbled something about leaving now or never being able to leave at all, and fled from the room.

When Luke was gone, Reid was left alone feeling ridiculously sullen. Sighing to himself - at least no one was around to see it - he glanced down at his phone. With a smile appearing back on his face, he awkwardly went through the process of unlocking the phone, deleting Luke's contact name and typing in a new one:

_Stupid Hair_

*

Once seated in the chair in his office, Reid immediately made a phone call.

"Hey, Pseudo Boss," Susie greeted. "What's the latest from Oakdale? Siamese Twins fall in love with the same man and get into an epic battle for his affections, destroying a local power plant in the process?"

Reid almost produced a smile, but didn't quite manage it. "I need a number to contact James Price." He was working on getting all the details for patients coming from the Centre onto his computer at Memorial, but the transfer system hadn't been set up yet.

"What for?" Susie asked, suddenly all business. "Is there something you forgot to go over with him that you didn't cover in the meetings or the paperwork?" She seemed shocked, like that didn't sound like Reid Oliver at all.

Not exactly. "I screwed up my hands."

There was a considerable silence. "How bad?"

"Nothing that should be stopping me from operating again once they heal," he told her, "but the surgery's going to have to be pushed back at least a couple of weeks."

Susie sighed over the phone. "What happened? Are you in pain?"

"Well my hands are bruised to hell, so yeah, I'm in some pain - nothing I can't cope with."

"Oh, of course," she mocked gently.

"As for what happened," he shrugged, which was a useless gesture over the phone, but he did it anyway, "you were right."

"I was right?" she asked, initially sounding surprised, quickly changing to playful arrogance. "Of course I was right." Susie paused. "About what?"

Reid braced himself for the gloating that was about to come. "There's this guy." And that was such an underwhelming sentence, as if that went anywhere near to describing what Luke meant to him.

But what was he supposed to say to her? _I, Reid Oliver, despite everything I've ever said, everything I've done and everything you know about me, have actually fallen in love?_

Susie would think his brain had been taken over by some kind of alien parasite, turning him into one of the locals.

Her reaction now was almost as dramatic: she laughed.

And laughed.

And laughed some more.

Reid spent the time trying to do something productive, going through a pile of paperwork that'd turned up in his in-tray. Unfortunately, he was literally incapable of scribbling down even his usual messy scrawl and had to abandon his attempts with a frustrated sigh.

About the same time Reid was contemplating throwing his pen across the room, burying it nib-first into the office door, Susie's laughing drew to a close.

"So, wait a minute - what does that have to do with you injuring your hands? Unless he's into some weird kinky sex thing - which, given what you've told me about that place, could be a distinct possibility." And that threw up so many disturbing images about the inhabitants of the town that Reid actually had to close his eyes.

The answer to her question, however, was quite the story to tell and he didn't especially want to tell it. "It's a long story, but sufficed to say-"

"Oh no, Reid. Don't even try it. It's a long story about you _falling in love_ -"

"I said nothing of the kind."

"Tell me I'm lying." Reid couldn't even open his mouth. Dammit. "That's what I thought. Now, this is a long story about you falling in love that you are going to share every single detail of."

"Don't you have work you should be doing?"

"Actually, no," she retorted sweetly, "my tyrant of a boss is out of town. Now spill."

Sighing, Reid did. Not every single detail; that was completely unnecessary. All he actually told her about Luke was that he liked him, and then he told her about Luke's apparent death, then resurrection - with Reid's assistance.

"Wow," she said, when he finally finished his story, "he must be _really_ hot."

Reid smiled, but at least no one was around to witness it. "That would be a fair assessment."

She made a contemplative sound. "You said hands."

He frowned. "I said hands?"

"You said hands, plural," she confirmed. "When you broke that guy's nose - nice job, by the way - did you pummel his face in or something? I got the impression it was a one-punch deal."

Reid stared down at the bandaged hands in question, still awkwardly attempting to hold a pen. "No. When I first heard Luke was dead, I may have gone..."

"Completely psycho?" Susie offered. "A little crazy? Insane with emotion?"

"Slightly irrational," Reid countered. "I was upset, there was a punching bag; you can guess what happened next."

She paused. "I have to meet this guy."

She was totally focusing on the wrong thing. "No, what you need to do is get me the phone number-"

"Reid, this guy, Luke - what was it? Snyder?" Reid grunted an affirmative. "For as long as I've known you, nearly five years now, your job, your hands, have _always_ been the most important thing to you. But when you thought Luke was dead, you practically destroyed them. You could've destroyed them," she added. "That's disturbing - and amazing."

Well aware of that fact, Reid moved on. "Some other time. For now, get me the number."

She sighed, but Reid could hear her beginning to type on her keyboard. "You do know how unorthodox it is for most doctors to actually call patients themselves?"

"Come on, Susie, you know me - I _live_ for unorthodox."

"That's one way of putting it," she replied dryly. "Okay, found it. Sure you don't want me to do it?"

"No," he insisted. Regardless of the cause, he needed to do this to himself. It was the right thing to do. "I got it." As she gave him the number, he slowly typed it into a word processing document, rather than attempting to write it down. "Thanks."

"Hey, I have a question," she announced randomly, "seeing as I know for a fact that you've given me basically no information about him whatsoever, I just want you to answer one thing."

This had the distinct feeling of a trap behind it. "Yes?" he answered cautiously.

"If you could sum up Luke in one word," she asked him, "what would it be?"

Brilliant. Beautiful. Frustrating. Generous. Selfless.

Amazing.

"Luke," he replied, and ended the call.

*

James Price was a ridiculously nice man - a lot like Luke in that respect, actually - and when Reid called to tell him the surgery would have to be pushed back due to an injury to his hands, he was extremely nice about it.

Reid didn't do regret very often, and he didn't really do it now. But for the first time ever, he did wish there was another surgeon out there as brilliant as him who was capable of performing the same procedure. The people who ended up being referred to him at _Memorial_ were the one's that no one else at the Centre were capable of or were willing to touch. Only Reid had the expertise - or balls - to take them on.

Reid didn't take on absolutely any patient; if there was zero chance of success he was upfront about not operating right from the beginning. But if there was a slim chance, if the patient could make a fully informed decision of all the risks involved, Reid would absolutely try, no matter what.

James Price was one such case.

"I hope it was nothing serious," Mr Price asked, concerned, when he was the one who'd have to live with the tumour pressing against his optic nerve even longer. Radiation had done what it could, but the tumour was still there and currently rendering him blind. The location of the tumour made it particularly tricky to remove, which was why it was one of Reid's cases.

"It was a stupid accident," Reid told him truthfully, "completely my own fault." He knew even as he said it that he was opening himself up to potential litigation, but he wasn't about to stop telling the truth now. "That's why I contacted your personally." This was a huge inconvenience, Reid knew that. Mr Price had been advised against flying so had to make the journey by car. His wife had already made arrangements to take time off work to drive him through the long journey to Oakdale.

"Well I can't say I'm thrilled at the news," Mr Price admitted, "but these things happen. And I appreciate a man who takes responsibility for his actions. You didn't have to call me yourself." He paused, as if considering something. "You seem different."

"Different?"

"Yeah," Mr Price confirmed. "Maybe it was the accident - I don't know. And I know it's not my place - you're my doctor, not my friend. But you seem different."

By the end of the phone call, Reid was left feeling like he should be the one thanking Mr Price. He'd been so grateful to hear from Reid personally, to be treated like a person instead of a patient, that he'd reacted better than Reid could've ever imagined.

Feeling the need to speak to a certain someone, Reid was just about to make his third phone call of the day when his cell phone rung. A quick glance at the Caller ID made his lips quirk up.

_Stupid Hair is calling..._

Reid pressed a button and brought the phone up to his ear. "How'd you get this number?"

"Grandmother can find absolutely anything."

That made complete and utter sense. "I was just about to-"

"You didn't call me," Luke interrupted hastily. "It's been more than an hour. So I called you."

The quirk turned into more of a smile. "Needy much, Mr Snyder?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong...actually, don't," he said, "but were you or were you not about to say that you were just about to call me?"

"I would've said that," Reid conceded, "but someone rudely interrupted me. In any case, I got caught up in a phone call with a patient."

"The patient whose surgery you have to delay because of the damage to your hands?"

Luke was something else. "You know about that?"

"It's not exactly difficult to figure out when you keep talking about 'consequences' of actions. Also," he admitted, "I talked to Bob before I left the hospital." Ha. "How'd they take it?"

"Surprisingly well," Reid found himself shrugging. "He _is_ one of my more...friendly patients, but I expected more disappointment."

"You should hear your voice," Luke's grin was apparent even over the phone, "you sound so disappointed there wasn't more disappointment."

"What can I say? I'm a man who likes a challenge."

"Well, you certainly got one in me," Luke replied, amused.

"Nah," Reid shrugged. "Easiest thing I've ever done."

When Luke replied, he sounded suspiciously _emotional_ again. "Reid..."

"Oh, don't start!"

"It's your own fault!"

"I was just telling the truth!"

Luke paused, huffing out a breath. "I'm sorry if I'm not used to it, okay? And you make no sense, anyway. You say these hugely emotional things and then get funny when _I_ get emotional. You're not the only one with feelings to express, Reid."

Chastised, Reid stared down at the phone. "How's your day been so far?"

After a moment of silence, Luke apparently decided to let him change the subject. "I stopped by the Grimaldi Shipping offices - it was pretty much what I expected. Complete chaos. Even if I did still want the job, as the son of the recently jailed CEO, I can't see anyone wanting to keep me on. Given the way they were acting, unless they get their act together straight away, I can't see it staying afloat for much longer anyway." He sighed. "Pun intended. I feel sorry for all the people who will probably lose their jobs, but I've only been working there for a few weeks. Even if I did want to try and save the company, somehow, I wouldn't have the vaguest idea where to start. And to be honest," he continued, "I don't want anything to do with anything that has the Grimaldi name on it anymore." That had to be the understatement of the century. "I got to _Worldwide_ , where we do most of the Foundation work, and realised I hadn't heard from you, so..." Luke paused. "I wanted to hear your voice," he admitted quietly.

Reid swallowed. "It's...pleasant to hear yours," he replied, "even if you are pissed at me."

"I'm not pissed at you," Luke chuckled.

"Please, I annoy people for a living. I know every pissed reaction in the book."

"You're probably personally responsible for every pissed reaction in the book."

"See?" Reid pointed out. "I was right. You are pissed at me."

Luke snorted. "Do you have any idea how frustrating you can be?"

"I have been informed of this on a regular basis, so yes." Luke apparently had no response to that, and they both sat in silence. Eventually, as it was starting to get awkward, Reid found himself blurting out, "I'll work on it. Letting you...express your emotions, or whatever the hell sappy term you want to give it. Bear in mind I've never done this before," he reminded.

"I know," Luke replied fondly. "To be honest, I kind of feel like I haven't, either. I feel like...what I had with Noah could be really good sometimes, and I cared about him so much, you know?" Yeah, Reid really didn't need to hear that. "But with you, it's...so much _more_."

Reassuring though the words were, it was still uncomfortable to hear Luke talking about him that way. Fortunately, he had the perfect antidote: "So what you're saying is, Noah's the minors and I'm the major leagues?"

Laughing again, Luke replied, "Yeah, we're gonna have to work on you not deflecting with humour, either."

One step at a time. "You know you like it. And I can't help but notice that you didn't tell me I was wrong."

"That's because you're absurd," Luke retorted.

"An absurd man you're crazy about."

"Yeah," Luke agreed, "I don't know how that happened, either."

Their extremely enjoyable banter was interrupted by what sounded suspiciously like Lucinda's voice coming through Luke's end of the call.

_"Oh, good, it worked? Tell him to be a dear and hang up, or you'll never get any work done. The phone sex can wait until later."_

"Grandmother!"

Yeah, Lucinda Walsh was pretty damn awesome. Reid might actually have to look into getting her some flowers.

Luke was still making entertaining, offended noises that were somehow so _likeable_ that Reid suddenly started speaking.

"Come over tonight."

Luke hesitated. "I'd love to, but I promised I'd help out at the farm."

"So come over after. Or before," he suggested. "I don't care when." Seeing Luke was good at any time, but away from the rest of his insane family and the responsibilities they put on him? It was even better.

Plus, unless Katie was keeping one hell of a secret, there were no 'rules' about Luke spending the night. Reid suspected that was the real reason Luke was hesitating.

Eventually, Luke responded. "Okay." He sounded hesitant, but excited. "Yeah, I'd really like that." Reid was pretty sure that, if he could see himself, his smile would be more than a little scary. "I'll call you when I know what's going on tonight."

"Good, that's good," Reid responded, and then he was the one who started getting all _weird_ and hesitant. "Um. So. I'll see you later?"

"Later," Luke responded, and ended the call.

Still staring at the phone, Reid was pretty sure he'd just made a sex date with Luke Snyder.

The only coherent thought he could muster was: thank _God_ it wasn't eighteen months.

*

Bob had arranged for Reid to see a specialist in the hospital that same day - there were certain benefits that came with being a highly in-demand neurosurgeon - and a few hours later, Reid waited impatiently while the specialist in question looked over his freshly-unwrapped hands.

As far as Reid was concerned, there was no reason that the process needed to take even as long as it'd taken already. He was also aware, however, that he wanted his hands to be free of any sausage wrapping for Luke's 'visit'.

He'd been thinking about it so much, anticipating it so much since the phone call (when had he ever looked forward to anything that much?), that knowing his luck, Luke would probably just want to hold hands and talk about their feelings for the rest of the night.

The really sad thing was, part of Reid would secretly love it.

Finally, his inconsiderable-to-start-with patience gave out. "So, Doc, what's the prognosis?" He only knew Dr...Smith? Jones? Brown?

He only knew Dr Whatshername in passing; he didn't think they'd ever been officially introduced - admittedly, not that an introduction would've made much impact on Reid remembering her name. He was capable of remembering just about anything, yes, but why waste grey matter on people he just didn't have any interest in whatsoever?

At least she seemed faintly competent, which was all he could hope for most of the time.

"We'll need to run further tests to be sure, but I suspect Dr Hughes' original assessment is correct, and that you have little to no chance of any long term deep tissue or nerve damage."

That was almost exactly what he wanted to hear. The actual exact thing he wanted to hear went along the lines of, _Yes, Doctor, you can absolutely keep those freakishly annoying wrappers off your sausage-like fingers._

There was only one way to know for sure if he was going to get that answer, however. "So, really," he waggled his fingers, prompting a disapproving frown from Dr Whatshername, "I don't actually have to keep those bandages on, right?" When she hesitated, Reid sensed his advantage and quickly continued. "Look, we're both doctors. We both know that at least a quarter of all treatments are window dressing; reminders for stupid patients to not keep doing that stupid thing that hurts them. A bunch of gauze around my fingers is not going to make them heal faster - all it's going to do is remind me not to do anything that will make them even worse. Something I already know."

She regarded him with some small amount of amusement. "Dr Oliver, would you be referring to yourself as one of those stupid patients you were just talking about?"

And just like that, he remembered her name was Christina Lloyd. "I'll take any test, any scan you want," he assured her. "Just tell me I can give my fingers some _freedom_." Not being able to use them properly for his work was bad enough. The thought of not being able to touch Luke freely was almost unbearable, whether they had sex or not.

"You asked for an expert opinion," she told him, "so let me give you one. If the tests show that my assumptions are correct, then no, you don't need that much wrapped around your fingers. You must, however, rest them as much as possible - you shouldn't even be writing. You must also keep antiseptic gauze over the broken skin at all times, except when showering, changing the dressing at least once a day. Preferably twice."

Reid nodded eagerly. "So...band aids?"

"Would be sufficient, as long as they're an appropriate size," she nodded. "And if there's any sign of infection whatsoever, you come straight to me."

One test on a valuable pair of hands later, Reid made a phone call and did what he could of his rounds - Dr Lloyd had been serious about Reid resting his hands, and had threatened to return the sausage fingers if she even got a whiff that he wasn't complying. Therefore, annoyingly, he had to have a nurse assist him at all times. Even more annoyingly it was that friend of Luke's, the one Casey was always making eyes at. They might have actually been a couple but as always in Oakdale, things seemed 'complicated'.

"Nurse," he said, about to instruct her to check the pupil response of the patient currently in a medically induced coma.

"Stewart."

He frowned at her. "What?"

"You said nurse," she replied, "I assumed you were asking what my name was."

"You assumed wrong," he had no problem telling her. "Pupil response."

Moving closer to the patient, she carefully and efficiently checked for him. "PERRL," Nurse Stewart responded. At least she knew her acronyms. "My first name's Alison."

Reid didn't even look up from the patient chart he was reading. "Good for you. Would you like a gold star for knowing your own name?"

She made a noise that sounded a lot like a sigh. "I was there last night, you know. At the farm. With Casey."

"I'm not the one suffering from amnesia at the moment," he pointed out, "this is a fact I was aware of. However, my focus at the moment is my job. So: pulse."

"Seriously," she ignored him, "we were at the same place together for hours. You're not even going to say hello?"

People who insisted on making more of non-existent relationships than there was drove him mad. "Why on earth would I do that? We didn't interact. I don't even know you."

"But you and Luke are...together, right?" She looked like the idea wasn't particularly pleasant.

Reid couldn't imagine that it would be particularly pleasant to know her, either. "And, what? Because you're friends with Luke that should automatically make us best buds, too? You want to hold hands and skip through a field of tulips? I'm not Noah."

"Yeah, that's kinda obvious," she retorted, obviously completely unimpressed by him and far preferring Noah.

"Respect is earned," he replied calmly. "You seem competent enough at your job - when not asking personal, unprofessional questions of staff. Getting on with your work will tell me far more about your character than attempting alarmingly awkward chit-chat with someone who plainly doesn't want to talk to you - i.e., me. So," he tried again, "pulse."

Alison finally did what he asked. But he was pretty sure he heard her mutter something about Noah being _so_ much nicer.

That, Reid thought, was all a matter of opinion.

When rounds were finally over, Paul and Barbara were waiting for him, as requested. Paul hadn't actually been arrested but according to Barbara it couldn't be far off.

"That Margo Hughes," she muttered accusingly, "she keeps circling Paul like a bloodthirsty shark."

"She's just doing her job, Mom," Paul replied, a response that made Reid lift his eyebrows in surprise. Mom? "I told you already - for all we know, I could be guilty."

"Don't be ridiculous," Barbara insisted.

"It's not being ridiculous," he argued, "especially given some of the things I've apparently done in the past." Paul had apparently learned quite a lot about himself over the past few days. As far as Reid was concerned, at the moment it could only help.

"Paul, there's a difference between tricking people and attempting to kill them."

"Not much of one, depending on the trick. This could've been just my next step in my life as a career criminal," he said dryly.

"You weren't-"

"Mom, come on," Paul pointed out, "be honest. Finally be _honest_."

Barbara was silent, looking uncomfortable as she glanced from Paul to Reid. Reid shrugged. This had been her doing all along; he wasn't getting involved. She looked back at Paul before finally giving in and revealing what she'd been trying to hide all this time. "Very well. You were a selfish, arrogant man who manipulated people easily and fooled everyone into thinking he was dead. You only ever thought of yourself. In that way, you were exactly like your father - and that is a not a comparison you want, believe me. But you're not a killer, Paul," she informed him vehemently, "of that, I am absolutely certain."

By this point, Reid was kind of wishing he hadn't called them at all. He'd just wanted to run through a few tests, see if there were any changes in Paul's responses. Not be front and centre at the Oakdale production of Secrets and Lies.

"And since you're insisting on honesty," Barbara continued, "Dr Oliver is only still here because I've been blackmailing him."

Reid winced. "Was that entirely necessary?"

They both looked at him surprise - Paul because of the news, Barbara because of the reaction.

"I thought you'd be happy that it was finally out in the open," she told him.

"Not so much, Mrs Ryan." He wasn't even entirely sure why he didn't like her spilling the beans, but the feeling was there just the same.

By now, Paul's expression of surprise had dissipated and he started nodding slowly. "That actually makes a lot of sense," he said. "Actually, that explains just about everything about you being here."

"Don't worry," Reid replied, although he doubted there was much that ever worried this particular patient, "at this point I'm not going anywhere even if your mother's sanity suddenly returns and she stops blackmailing me. Damn work ethic."

"Don't you hate morals?" Paul asked sympathetically.

Reid sighed. "Seriously, they're so inconvenient."

He spent the next half an hour running through a few familiar procedures with Paul, testing his memory retention, quizzing him on recent events, checking if there'd been any more possible flashes of memory - like the shot in the back comment - since he'd been away. Eventually Reid concluded that, as far as he could tell, nothing had changed.

Barbara was not happy about this, but it wasn't like there was anything else she could do to threaten him.

"What about seeing the evidence against Paul?" Reid asked.

"We've made a formal request," she replied, "but until they actually charge him with something, they don't have to show us a damn thing."

They were probably deliberately holding back until they had enough evidence to absolutely ensure a conviction - which might never happen.

Then he remembered he was in Oakdale, and whatever was the most dramatic thing was always going to happen.

"So, really," Paul began, facing his mother, "blackmailing people. Is that something you do on a regular basis?" He paused, considering. "Is it something _I_ do on a regular basis?"

*

When Reid made it home, Katie and Brad were cuddling together on the sofa.

"Seriously," was how Reid greeted them, "do you two ever do any work?"

"The wandering hero returns," Katie ignored the comment, getting to her feet to hug him.

Reid permitted her a two-second hug before stepping away. "I returned yesterday. You were there. Also, Luke's coming over tonight."

That caught Brad's attention, who was surprisingly capable of comprehending double-meanings. "Coming over?" he asked, from where he was still lounging on the sofa, "or _coming over_?"

"Oh my God, Brad."

"What?"

"Just a couple of weeks ago you thought it was - and I quote - 'gross' that Luke was gay."

"No," he argued, "I thought it was gross for me to be thinking about him hitting on me - which it is, by the way. Luke getting some with someone else can only be a good thing. Seriously," he continued as an aside to Reid, "I don't think he's had his fair share of sex, if you know what I mean."

Reid frowned, trying to dissect and make sense of that sentence. There was nothing for him to know what Brad meant, because Brad had already stated it plainly. After a moment, Reid and Katie shared a look:

_Brad cannot be here when Luke arrives._

It could only end in disaster.

"I need to make a phone call!" Katie announced and ten minutes later, Brad was being pushed out the door, the two of them 'suddenly' deciding to spent the night at Margo's.

After Brad had been instructed to start the car running, Reid had to endure another knowing look and stupid grin from Katie. "I hope you have fun, Reid," she said, kissing him on the cheek, "whatever happens. Also," she added, "wear the black jeans with the purple shirt. And if you can find an excuse to wear your leather jacket, even better."

With that last piece of advice, she was gone.

Reid didn't consider himself a particularly vain man, but he showered, fussed with his hair - ultimately doing nothing to it whatsoever - and found himself putting on the specific clothes Katie had mentioned, albeit without the jacket. They had sandwich supplies and drinks in the fridge and Luke had called to tell him to expect him around eight, so as far as Reid was concerned all he had to do now was wait.

Outside of surgery, Reid was not good at waiting.

He'd not-watched twenty minutes of some animal rescue program (something he was never mentioning to anyone, ever), when the doorbell finally sounded. He may have reached the door and opened it far faster than was necessary, but Luke looked just as pleased to see him as he was to see Luke so it really didn't matter.

"Hey," Luke greeted, standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Hey," Reid replied, standing back to let Luke in.

Luke stayed in the doorway, holding up the bag Reid hadn't even noticed he was carrying. "Robes."

"Oh," Reid nodded, having actually completely forgotten about them. "Good."

Swallowing, Luke lowered his hand, flicked his gaze nervously around what he could see of the apartment. "Where's Katie?"

Interesting. "Margo's."

He paused. "Brad?"

"Margo's."

Luke nodded slowly. "All night?"

"Yeah."

Clearing his throat, Luke finally met Reid's gaze. "I have to get up early tomorrow morning to leave in time to help out at the farm."

Reid's grip on the door handle tightened. "I'm a doctor. I'm used to crappy hours."

Swallowing, Luke nodded again. He looked really, really good. "Okay." And then suddenly he was moving, throwing the bag to one side, pushing Reid further into the apartment, slamming the door shut behind him. Reid was right there with him as Luke grabbed his head, bringing their mouths together passionately.

Stumbling against the sofa they quickly righted themselves, trying not to trip over a table in the process. It felt like Luke was everywhere at once, like he wanted to touch everywhere at once, a plan Reid was absolutely, 100% okay with. When they eventually ended up bumping hard against the free-standing counter in the kitchen, Reid grunted at the flare of sudden pain in his lower back, but tugged Luke back as soon as he started to pull away to see if he was okay.

"'m fine," Reid told him, the response disappearing into another kiss.

"Bedroom," Luke ordered, sneaky fingers working on the buttons of Reid's shirt even as Reid guided them both towards his room. Once there, their lips finally separated fully when Luke pushed Reid down onto the bed. Smirking up at him, shirt undone, Reid promptly decided he liked this side of Luke.

A lot.

Luke apparently liked it too, smirking back at Reid as he tugged off his own shirt and started working on his pants. Reid made an undignified noise of complaint, reaching out to help, but Luke caught Reid's wrists in his hands. "No," he instructed, and when he climbed onto Reid's lap, pushing him back and holding his wrists down onto the bed, it was even hotter.

Luke's impressive cock was even more impressive pressing against him, and Reid shamelessly ground against him as Luke tongue-fucked him in obscene and amazing new ways.

Reid's shirt vanished. One second it was there and the next - gone. Their pants disappeared soon after and finally, finally, Luke let Reid get his hands on him and Reid could touch and feel and rub. Luke particularly liked it when Reid pressed down on his ass and ground their cocks together, and Reid was certainly a huge fan of it, too.

It was hot - unbelievably, unspeakably hot - Luke groaning as he rutted against him, but...but...

_"Be honest. Finally be **honest**."_

Fuck.

"Luke."

Luke was busy mouthing at Reid's neck, hand sliding down to cup Reid's cock.

Jesus.

"Luke!"

Startled, Luke's hand flew away from Reid's cock.

That was a sentence Reid hoped he'd never have to think ever again.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked, panting, suddenly looking panicked. Reid's chest clenched. "Did I...did I do something-"

"No," Reid told him firmly, honestly, hands coming up to cup Luke's face. "It's perfect. You're perfect."

Flushing, Luke settled back. "Then what?"

Reid sighed at the situation, but mostly at himself. "I literally cannot believe I'm saying this, but before we continue, we have to..." he spoke distastefully, "... _talk_."

" _Now?_ " Luke asked and really, it wasn't like Reid didn't understand exactly where he was coming from.

"Now," Reid confirmed, nodding, because as much as Reid wanted this - it was pretty much the thing he'd wanted most his entire life, which was definitely saying something - Luke had a right to know...everything before he made this choice. "We have to talk," he continued, "about why I decided to stay in Oakdale in the first place."

*

"What do you mean?" Luke asked, still straddling Reid's naked form with his own extremely naked body.

It was profoundly distracting. "Could you...cover yourself up?" Luke started looking worried again and Reid immediately found himself reassurring him. Noah must have seriously done a number on him to make a guy as gorgeous as Luke as self-conscious as he could be sometimes. "It's just that you look really, _really_ hot, and I'm actually trying to do the honourable thing for once here. And you..." His hands moved to rest on Luke's hips, his eyes on Luke's cock. He swallowed. "You're really not helping. The view is _extremely_ distracting."

Starting to look pleased again, Luke bit his lip and nodded silently, before - sadly, regretfully - climbing off of Reid's body. Moving further up the bed - Reid couldn't help it, he had to watch Luke's erect cock as it softly bounced with Luke's movements and wow, he really needed to get this over with as soon as humanly possible so they could continue with the sex. Once Luke was settled in bed, covers pulled across his lower half, he seemed to regain his confidence.

"Tell me what you're talking about," he told Reid, folding his arms across his chest. The effect was kind of ruined by the tent between his legs. "Why did you stay in Oakdale?"

He really, really hoped this would ultimately lead to sex and not to Luke storming out of the apartment. "Barbara Ryan is blackmailing me."

The confidence went again - and really, Luke had to work on that - and Luke's arms slipped out of their told hold until they were hanging limply in his lap. "Blackmailing you?"

"I did, originally, just come to Oakdale to remove a microchip from Paul Ryan's brain," Reid explained, "which was extraordinary enough by itself. And then when he woke up with amnesia..."

"She blackmailed you into staying to try and get his memories back," Luke concluded. Shrugging, he glanced down at his hands. "I feel kind of dumb," he admitted. "When I first heard you were staying in town...I'd done my research, you know? Unofficially on Google. I knew you had this whole life waiting back for you in Dallas. Your Neurology Centre. I mean, why on earth would you stay in this tiny backwater town?" he asked rhetorically, still not looking up, still focusing on his hands. "And I know I was still with Noah then, but part of me thought...or, more like, hoped..." He glanced off to one side, producing an awkward smile. "It at least had _something_ to do with me."

"At the time," Reid nodded, "I kept bitching to myself about Barbara trapping me in Oakhell, about how she'd threatened to ruin my career, leaving me with no choice whatsoever but to stay here. Looking back on it now," he conceded, "that was my main motivation. But I can't truthfully say it was my only one."

Finally meeting his gaze again, Luke began to look hopeful."Really?"

He was so ridiculously easy to please, grateful for the smallest crumb of affection. It was startling and worrying. Reid decided, then and there, to do everything he could to ensure that Luke knew he deserved so much better. "I couldn't even admit it to myself at the time; wouldn't even let myself think about it. But I think I..." he shrugged, "...wanted to _know_ you. That's...never happened to me before." Reid could actually do this talking about his feelings thing. He didn't particularly enjoy it, but he was capable of doing it. It made sense to him that, in a relationship, you were clear with your partner how you felt about them - showing them that respect was just common sense because it would keep your partner happy, and what was the point of doing a relationship _badly_? You either did it well or not at all. He excelled at everything he did; relationships would be one more thing. He was still Reid Oliver, however, and he had to find ways of doing so that didn't make him sound like a particularly love-sick teenage girl.

He was pretty sure Hank had been right - Luke was the hot jock, the star of Oakdale, and Reid was the geeky girl, the the unpleasant doctor who'd just moved to town, mooning over him.

Fortunately for him, the hot jock wanted him back.

"So, I just thought," Reid continued and Luke was looking at him with a warmer expression now; definitely a plus, "if we're doing this boyfriends thing, you should probably know that. Before we actually do the dirty."

Luke frowned at him. "What've you done that Barbara's blackmailing you with? Is it something...bad?"

"Nothing," Reid shook his head. "I may not be the most pleasant human being on the planet, but I've always taken my training and my career seriously. I wouldn't take short cuts. And I've certainly never done anything untoward towards a patient."

"I know," Luke said seriously.

"To be honest, she wasn't very specific," he admitted, "vague threats about ruining my career without actually mentioning any details." It'd seemed so incredibly serious at the time, but when he looked back on it...the whole thing was kind of laughable.

Starting to smile slowly, Luke snuggled down lower in bed, looking distinctly pleased with his lot in life. "Yet instead of calling her bluff, you stayed in Oakdale anyway."

"Imagine that," Reid quipped, smiling along with him.

Moving his left hand to one side, Luke held Reid's gaze as he patted the space beside him.

Reid was _this_ close to just moving, but sometimes the waiting was almost better than the action itself. Almost. "What happened to eighteen days?" he teased.

"Oh, well," Luke shrugged nonchalantly, "if you want to wait eighteen days, we can-"

"Don't even joke about that," Reid retorted, actually scurrying up the bed towards Luke. Luke laughed as Reid settled on top of him, his hands coming up to trace the features of Reid's face, fingers weaving through his hair. They just kind of _stared_ at each other, drinking each other in.

Reid had definitely never done _that_ before.

"Why did you insist on telling me?" Luke asked eventually, quietly, a hand moving to skim across Reid's shoulder.

Closing his eyes, Reid pressed his forehead gently against Luke's. "You said I had a whole life waiting for me in Dallas. That's not true," he insisted. "I have a job. I have one friend. And that's it." He paused. "After I hurt my hands," Reid continued slowly, opening his eyes again. Luke stared back at him, full of curiousity and wonder. It felt _right._ "Katie told me I was in love with you." Luke's expression transformed into utter surprise, the hand still in Reid's hair digging in harder. "Pretty sure she was right," Reid finished.

"Reid..." Luke's voice was a whisper, barely there, his eyes suspiciously glassy.

Having to curtail his first instinct, Reid instead said nothing, waiting, as Luke got all emotional.

Luke knew better, plainly taking a moment to regain his equilibrium. "You totally want to make a comment about me getting weepy right now, don't you?"

Reid nodded even as he smiled. "But I'm heroically holding it back."

Snorting quietly, Luke's gaze moved briefly down to Reid's lips before moving back up to the rest of his face. "You're a good man, Reid."

And that was astounding, because no one had ever told him that in his entire life. They said he was a good doctor, or an arrogant son of a bitch. Never that he was a good man. Reid could only give so much in one day and he reverted back to his first instinct: humour. "You're just saying that because I'm lying naked on top of you."

"No," Luke immediately responded, not letting Reid get away with it, "I'm saying it because it's true. You found me. You found Dad. You put up with all the crap that my life has in it. You care about others, even though you try to deny it. And you try to do right by me, even if it's not easy for you, even if it's something you've ever done before."

Swallowing, Reid was now the one to glance away. "I don't see the point in doing anything half-assed," he replied carefully, measuring every word.

Luke nodded slowly, studying him. "Seems to me, this is definitely the one area where no one should ever be half-assed."

After another few moments of _looking_ at each other, Reid leant down and softly pressed his lips against Luke's. Both their cocks had long since softened and it certainly started out innocently enough. Reid hadn't actually _intended_ to go any further than the kiss.

It still took less then thirty seconds for them to go from chaste-kiss touching to tongue-sharing humping. 

Luke felt _amazing_ and he tasted _amazing_ and he made these amazing, _amazing_ noises in his throat that only spurred Reid on further. The sheet covering them had been ripped away so it was skin on skin, flesh against flesh and Reid had never gotten so hard so fast in his entire life. Luke, however, apparently wanted a change in position because he rolled them over until he was back on top and that was absolutely fine, more than absolutely fine, and Reid had no problem with just about anything Luke wanted to do while he was naked.

Urging Reid to sit up, Luke resumed his earlier position, straddling Reid's lap and rocking against him. Reid panted against Luke's mouth, skin hot and flushed, producing his own moans even as he tried to swallow Luke's. When he reached down a hand, rubbing their cocks together, Luke moaned even louder, arching his back.

"No, no," he gasped, grabbing Reid's wrist like it was the last thing he wanted to be doing. "Your hands." He held his body tightly in control, like he might fly apart if he didn't.

Luke _had_ to be kidding. "You can't be serious."

"Try me," Luke stared back, breathing heavily, pupils blown wide. "Let me," he urged, his own hand batting Reid's out of the way, and when Luke's hand took over Reid didn't even know why he'd argued. Their hard cocks rubbing against each other were even hotter sliding through Luke's sweaty palm instead of his own.

Unable to keep his eyes open, Reid let them fall shut with his head bowed, one hand in Luke's hair and the other sliding around and down, resting at the top of Luke's ass, fingers clenching into skin intermittantly. Touch and sound alone was still driving him with certainty towards orgasm. When Luke gave up a particularly loud groan, his hand speeding up time - Jesus Christ - Reid's eyes snapped open and the sight of their cocks rubbing together, being jerked off by Luke's talented hand, was almost his undoing.

"R-Reid," Luke stuttered breathlessly, hand faltering, head pressed against Reid's as he, too, enjoyed the show, "I'm-"

"I've got you," Reid replied just as breathlessly, both hands moving to tip Luke's face upward. His expression was by turns horny and completely awed. Reid knew exactly how he was feeling. "I got you," he repeated, and as he hungrily slotted their mouths together, Luke started shaking.

The kiss barely lasted another second and then Luke was yanking his head away, burying it into the crook of Reid's neck, shuddering as his hand started to lose rhythm. Luke's free hand flew up to Reid's shoulder, hanging on tightly and Reid found himself mimicking Luke's position, burying his own head into Luke's neck because there was nothing else he could do and when Luke started shuddering, moaning long and loud, it was scant seconds after that Reid followed suit.

They collapsed onto the bed, a mixture of come, sweat and happiness and even as he still panted, Luke rolled towards him. "Oh my _God_."

Reid nodded. It was pretty much all he was capable of.

Luke laughed. "That was amazing!"

Grinning, still catching his breath, Reid nodded some more. "That it was, Mr Snyder."

Chuckling, Luke pressed in closer, panting, tucking himself up to Reid's body. "Oh my God."

Reid didn't even care about pins and needles at the moment, tugging Luke even closer until they were plasted together. "You said that already."

"It bears repeating," Luke grinned, looking up at him before leaning in for a kiss. Drawing away, Luke flopped back onto the bed - well, Reid's arm - and looking down at his own body. "I need a towel," he complained, disappearing off and away from the bed before Reid could even reach out to stop him. Fortunately he returned quickly with a damp cloth. He'd obviously already clean himself off - and seemed to have forgotten all about his own nudity, a fact Reid was extremely pleased about - and he knelt on the side of the bed, gently wiping Reid clean, too.

When the cloth rubbed over Reid's still sensitive cock, he quickly drew in a breath.

"Sorry," Luke apologised gingerly.

"It's okay," Reid shook his head, holding out a hand. "What are you doing all the way over there?"

Grinning, Luke threw the cloth somewhere out of sight and lunged towards Reid's end of the bed. When he'd settled back into place, his tapped his fingers against Reid's bare chest. "So, I've been thinking."

"Don't strain yourself," Reid quipped, which earned him a quick slap. "Thinking what?"

"Well, your fingers are out of commission, right?" he began, which was an interesting start to a question. "So that means, later..." he paused. "You know. I'll have to...prepare things myself." Reid wished like hell he could see Luke's face right now, but he kept said face stubbornly aimed towards Reid's torso. "Or, I could...you know."

Well, that was specific. "You know, what?"

And that was how Reid found himself face down on the bed with Luke eating his ass out.

He was good at it, too. Reid had been frantically trying to rub his cock on the covers for the past few minutes but Luke was having none of it, tugging his hips back up every time Reid tried. Luke rimmed with an enthusiasm Reid had rarely experienced himself and he seemed to enjoy it as much as Reid enjoyed getting rimmed. Luke's mouth and tongue moved constantly over Reid's hole and he wasn't afraid to use a finger or two with lube, either - although the response he was getting from Reid probably helped. Every now and then Luke would break away to thank Reid _so much_ for letting him do this, at which point Reid would yell at him that he was insane and to just fuck him already.

Luke, however, was clearly an expert in torture because it wasn't until after he'd eaten Reid out for a good ten, fifteen minutes that he finally reached for a condom - Reid had _enthusiastically_ pointed out exactly where they were earlier ("There! They're right _there!_ Put one on your cock and _fuck me!_ ")

"Thank _fuck_ ," Reid groaned, turning himself over until he was facing Luke.

Luke smirked down at him, though his hands were shaking as he tried to get the condom open. "You've got a dirty mouth, Dr Oliver."

Snatching the condom out of Luke's hand, Reid efficiently ripped it open, tugging it free from the packaging. "You're the one who's been eating my ass, Mr Snyder."

Leaning in hungrily, they shared a dirty, tongue-filled, unbearably hot kiss, and if Luke kept that up Reid wasn't going to need any more help before coming. "Now," he ordered, ending the kiss, leaning up to roll the the condom over Luke's hard dick, "come _on_."

Hissing at Reid's hands on his dick, Luke closed his eyes. "Are you sure you're ready? I don't want to hurt-"

"It'll hurt me more if you don't screw me six ways from Sunday," Reid retorted, scooting back, "right now. Come on."

Luke moved over him. "Tell me if-"

"I will, I promise. Now." He spread his legs, watching as Luke hurriedly smeared himself with lube then took hold of his own cock, guiding himself into position. When Reid felt the initial pressure of intrusion, he closed his eyes and let out a long breath, deliberately letting his body relax. Luke slowly moved into Reid, inch by agonising inch.

It'd been a while since Reid had been fucked - he was versatile, but usually did the fucking - and his body took more time adjusting than he would've liked. Still, he could feel every inch of Luke as he slid inside and when he was finally buried all the way, Reid felt full, _satisfied_ in a way he never had before.

Holding his lower body still, Luke face-planted awkwardly into the pillow Reid's head was resting on, his fingers digging into the covers like claws.

Reid actually started feeling concerned. "Hey," he said quietly, stroking Luke's back. "Hey, it's okay. It's just me. Take your time."

Luke swallowed next to him, turning his head so his voice wouldn't be muffled by the pillow. His breath was hot against Reid's neck. "I've never..."

Holy shit. No way. "You've never fucked anyone?"

"No, no," Luke disagreed, "rarely with Noah. And never with _you._ "

Reid stroked his back again. "Well, I'm here now. What do you say we do something about that? Because if we don't," he continued, "I think my cock might actually fall off."

Chuckling - a bizarre sensation when someone had their cock inside of you - Luke braced his hands against the bed, pushing himself up until he was looking down at Reid. "Hi," he greeted.

"Hi," Reid smiled back.

Luke moved his hips. Then again. And again.

It didn't take him long to find his confidence or his rhythm, and Reid enjoyed every second of it. A few strokes later Luke found Reid's prostate and _shit_ , Reid had almost forgotten how powerful that could feel, rolling his head back and groaning loudly. Apparently enjoying that reaction, Luke then proceeded to aim for Reid's prostate as often as possible. Sometimes he missed, sometimes he slipped out but that was sex, and sex was awesome and messy.

In the end, Reid thought their staying power was pretty damn good, but when Luke started jerking Reid's cock at the same time he hit Reid's prostate with a particularly powerful thrust, it was game over for Reid. He arched underneath Luke, sensation rushing from the base of his cock, spreading out to every inch of his body. Apparently that was enough for Luke, too, who managed only a few more messy, uncontrolled thrusts before jerking against Reid, moaning into an equally messy kiss as he filled the condom with several bursts of his come.

"Ohmygod," Luke breathed as they panted against each other. Reid was absolutely baking, but had no intention of telling Luke to move. His ass was sore, his thighs would be feeling it tomorrow, he was too hot and covered in a combination of sweat and come.

And with Luke pressing small kisses along the length of his chin, Reid had never been happier.

*

The sound of a phone ringing jerked them both out of sleep. Even as Reid was prying open his eyes - Jesus, his ass really was sore - Luke was flailing around for the phone in question. Realising it wasn't his beeper - and that he wasn't even on call at the moment - Reid closed his eyes again and flopped back down onto the bed.

Unfortunately, Luke's conversation ensured that Reid had no chance whatsoever of falling back asleep.

"Hello?" A pause. "Noah."

If it'd been physically possible, Reid would've rolled his eyes behind his closed eyelids.

"Now's really not a good time..."

No kidding. Keeping his eyes closed, Reid inched a hand across the covers, searching for Luke. Eventually he found flesh, ending his search, the tips of his fingers resting against Luke's body.

"Important news? Well of course I want to know about it, but does it have to be right this second? It's...after ten thirty, Noah. I'm in bed." Another pause. "That's right. No, I'm not at the farm. Or at the house." A frustrated sigh. "No, Noah, he's not using me." Reid's eyes snapped open. "I just know, okay?" Shoving aside the bedding, Reid moved until he was sitting on the edge of the bed next to Luke, shoulders brushing together. He wanted to wring Noah Mayer's moronic neck.

Metaphorically, of course. His hands were still healing.

"That is none of your business. If you still need to talk to me we'll do it tomorrow. Don't call me again tonight." Ending the call, Luke tossed his phone onto the bedside table, uncaring as it skittered across the hard surface, teetering on the edge before plunging onto the plush carpet.

Neither one of them moved.

Holding his body tightly together, Luke's hands clutched against each other in his lap. Inspired, Reid stretched out his nearest hand and placed it on top of Luke's. Honestly, it seemed kind of a cheesy move to him, but also the kind of thing Luke would enjoy.

He turned out to be wrong and right.

"Your hands," Luke warned immediately.

"Are not going to be hurt just by resting on top of yours."

Letting out a breath, Luke leant against him heavily until his head was tucked in against Reid's neck.

"He always made me feel such highs and lows," Luke mumbled, "and it always made me think...surely only someone I really _love_ can make me that _miserable_. I mean if there's good there has to be bad as well, right?"

"Not bad," Reid argued. "Bad times, absolutely. But not a bad partner. Never a bad partner," he finished softly.

"Show me," Luke asked, voice shaking.

Reid swallowed, something digging inside his gut. "Show you what?"

Lifting his head from Reid's neck, Luke stared at him - scared, hurt and so, so brave. "How it's meant to be."

Reid didn't have the words. Even something ridiculously sentimental as 'I love you' couldn't capture the way he felt sometimes - when he thought Luke was dead, watching him stand up to Noah wearing only a fluffy robe, Luke pressed up against him, warm and surprised in front of his family - but Luke hadn't asked for words.

He kissed him, slowly and thoroughly; so slowly and thoroughly that Luke started to whine at his need for more. Reid had only ever had sex before, he'd certainly never 'made love', whatever that saccharine term represented.

He understood it now.

He couldn't do absolutely everything he wanted because whenever he tried to use his fingers too much Luke would stop and rebuke him, equally frustrating as it was reassuring. Luke certainly voiced no complaints, however, as Reid licked and tasted his body, spending most of his time on Luke's cock. Like every guy Reid had ever met - probably every guy that ever existed - Luke loved getting his cock sucked and, fortunately for both of them, Reid loved sucking cock.

Luke gasped and pleaded and moaned, and when Reid pulled off from his cock and moved up his body, intending to work on his nipples, Luke actually cursed at him and ordered Reid to finish sucking him off until he came.

Yeah, sucking cock was really fucking hot.

When Luke did come, crying out loudly, body arching up viciously, Reid clung on and swallowed every bitter drop. Mere seconds later, Luke's hands scrambled at Reid's arms, dragging Reid up to meet him in an open-mouthed kiss. Licking his taste out of Reid's mouth, Luke shuddered and finally flopped back onto the bed.

Stretching out next to him, Reid was extremely proud of himself.

Unfortunately, he was also extremely horny.

When Luke finally noticed this - Reid couldn't blame him; blowjobs performed by him were a masterful experience - he reached for Reid's neglected cock. Catching Luke's wrist, holding his gaze, Reid slowly shook his head.

And really, as frustrating as it was that he couldn't use his fingers for everything he'd like to, watching Luke open himself up with his own lubed fingers - following Reid's every instruction, concentrating fully with a strongly furrowed brow and getting over his embarrassment after all of thirty seconds - was, without a doubt, the hottest thing Reid had ever seen in his entire life. He was pretty sure he could come just from watching.

Fortunately, he had even better plans.

Carefully rolling the condom over his sensitive cock and messily smearing it with lube, Reid lined up into position. They were side by side, Reid's chest to Luke's back.

"Lift your upper leg," Reid said and Luke eagerly complied, holding his right leg up higher. Holding his own cock, Reid slowly, carefully began the press inside.

Immediately tensing, Luke made an unpleasant noise.

Reid froze. "Breathe," he instructed, "relax."

"It's been...a while. You're barely in and you feel huge already," Luke admitted, sounding concerned.

Much as Reid appreciated that rather huge stroke to his ego, if Luke was worried there was no way he was going to enjoy himself. "Listen up, Mr Snyder," Reid began, "because I'm about to tell you something I've never said to anyone before."

Luke was silent. Reid could almost hear the frown.

"What is it?"

"Your cock is bigger than mine. If I can handle yours, you can definitely handle mine."

It had the desired effect as Luke broke out into laughter, and then had the added affect of helping Luke to relax and open up a few moments later. Reid was feeling pretty damn pleased with himself as he slowly moved further into Luke and then he realised he was _inside Luke_ \- and it wasn't so funny.

Once Reid was pressed all the way inside, Luke lowered his leg and sighed what sounded like a suspiciously happy sigh.

"You good?" Reid asked.

Luke nodded. "Mmm."

That thing in Reid's chest swelled up. "C'mere," he said quietly and when Luke leant back against him, tipping his head back, Reid leant forward and captured his lips in a vaguely awkward, but still enjoyable, kiss.

Reid started moving his hips and this time - unlike their first time - he wanted it to be a slow burn for Luke, drawing it out for as long as possible and giving Luke as much pleasure as possible.

Somehow, though, he'd forgotten how bossy Luke was in bed. Reid blamed it on his brain dribbling out of his ears earlier - a clear-cut medical diagnosis.

In the end it became a battle of wills and strength. Reid would be determined to maintain to slow, tension-building pace; Luke would be equally determined to speed things up in a race to the finish line, thrusting his ass back against Reid faster and faster. In the end they literally grappled for dominance, Reid's hands tight on Luke's hips and in his position he had the advantage. Luke laughed, loving every moment of it.

They ended up fucking with Luke on his hands and knees, Reid fucking him from behind, although Reid still insisted on maintaining a slow, slow pace that was driving them both out of their minds. Luke's arms and legs kept jerking out, trying to find purchase as he cursed.

Finally, after a good few more minutes of torturing Luke this way, Reid conceded. Mainly because he was pretty damn sure he couldn't hold out for much longer.

"Reid..." Luke's voice was broken, rasping.

He kept moving. "Yeah?"

"Need more."

"More?"

"Harder," Luke spelt it out.

Reid gave him one sudden, fast thrust. "Harder?"

Moaning, Luke rocked back against him. " _Harder._ "

Guiding Luke back onto his side until they were back in their original position, Reid pressed against the bed for purchase and rocked against him, giving him what he wanted. Each thrust was faster, harder than the last. They made an attempt at a kiss but it barely lasted; it was all about their orgasms now. Bowing his head, Reid pressed it against the back of Luke's neck as he pistoned his hips faster and faster, moaning as Luke clenched around him.

Reid wasn't the only one moaning, Luke producing noises Reid would definitely be trying to mentally re-create the next time he jerked off. After one particularly vicious thrust Luke practically yelped and Reid instinctively lifted his head back up, peering over Luke's body to see Luke leaning forward, the fingers of his hands clutching desperately at the covers, knuckles white at the strength he was using.

"Oh my God," Luke started murmuring between pants, his thrusts back a perfect counterpoint now to Reid's, "oh my God, oh my God, oh my God..."

Reid had been fighting his orgasm for what felt like hours by now, and could barely contain it any longer "Wanna jerk you off," he spat out, aiming for Luke's prostate, feeling Luke amazingly tight around his cock, Luke's fingers tightening their grasp on the covers even further, "wanna jerk you off so fucking bad. Wanna see my hand make you come, watch the come spill out of you-"

Luke groaned loudly, stiffening, then jerking against Reid. The sudden tightening of Luke's ass was all Reid needed and he shuddered, shaking, burying his face against Luke's neck as he let out a loud, lengthy groan.

Neither one of them moved, still twitching occasionally. Reid was fucking exhausted. Eventually gathering some strength, he pressed a kiss to Luke's sweaty neck.

Luke barely shifted, breathing like he'd run a marathon. Reid knew exactly how he felt.

"You're spooning, Dr Oliver," Luke told him, voice warm.

Reid laughed. "Only because my cock is in your ass, Mr Snyder," he replied, voice just as pleased. Closing his eyes for a moment, he moved his hands. "I'm pulling out," he warned, holding the condom in place as he carefully pulled out of Luke's body.

Grunting, Luke leant forward slightly as Reid tugged the condom off, tying the end off and lobbing it off the side of the bed. He was too tired to do anything else at the moment and he seriously envied Luke his youth when he practically hopped off the bed, returning moments later with the towel he'd brought in earlier. It had to be almost dry by now but he quickly rubbed it over his torso, wiping off his own come, before collapsing back onto the bed.

They lay there side-by-side, facing each other.

Luke grinned. "That was..."

Reid couldn't lie; didn't even want to. "Stupendous? Mind-blowing?" Luke nodded happily. Reid smiled. "Me too."

Grinning harder, Luke scooted closer. "I could help you, you know," he said, glancing off to one side as his smile faltered. "With your Barbara problem. I'm sure Grandmother and I could do something to make her back down."

They'd just fucked each other's brains out and instead of just basking in the afterglow - or falling asleep, like a regular guy - Luke was thinking of ways to help him already. Still, Reid had absolutely no doubt Luke and Lucinda would help if he asked him to - he'd seen proof of the way they cared for others. "With your _Luciano_ side?"

The grin returned in full force. "I hear it's very hot."

"That it is," Reid confirmed. "But Luke Snyder's pretty damn hot, too." Pausing, he actually contemplated Luke's offer. "If you'd made that offer the day after she blackmailed me, I would've jumped at the chance."

"And now?" Luke asked, plainly not even trying to keep the hope out of his voice.

Reaching out a hand, Reid gently touched Luke's face, studying its features. "No. Not only do I actually want to help Paul now, I have...reasons for wanting to stay in town." He stared at Luke meaningfully.

Luke still looked serious. "What about later? After...if...when...Paul gets his memory back? What do we do then?"

Reid had no answers for him, because he really didn't know. He only knew one thing and though his first instinct was to hold it in, he remembered his thought from earlier, about Luke always deserving the best, never doubting how he felt for him.

And really, after the evening they'd had, he could afford to be a little sappy.

"I don't know," he said honestly, "I just know that, whatever happens, I can't be where you aren't."

The enthusiastic kiss and hug he promptly received proved that had been an excellent choice of response. Luke's head was still tucked against Reid's chest when he spoke.

"I know, realistically, it hasn't been that long," Luke told him, a finger tracing over Reid's skin, "but I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you."

The miraculous thing was, it didn't come as a surprise. It just felt _right_.

"Yeah," Reid agreed, holding Luke closer, pressing a kiss to the top of his head, "pretty sure I'm in love with you, too."

*

The next time Reid stirred, it was to the sound of an alarm going off. It wasn't his and it wasn't a fire alarm, so he saw no need to move.

Unfortunately, it seemed Luke disagreed. They were actually spooning this time, but Reid was sleepy, warm, comfortable and so thoroughly happy that he really didn't give a damn. When Luke started moving off the bed, Reid complained verbally - okay, he made a noise that he was absolutely sure could be translated as 'Snyder, get your ass back here _right_ now'.

Luke ignored him but a few moments later the alarm stopped and Reid heard his bedroom door open. Prying open his bleary eyes - Luke had really taken it out of him, in more ways than one - Reid could make out Luke's shadow walking out of the room. A few seconds later a light elsewhere went on and then Luke was back, standing in the doorway, naked body lit by the glow of golden light coming from outside. His hair was even worse than usual.

Reid really wished he didn't have to go. "What time is it?"

"Four," Luke replied, waving about the phone he still held in his hand, "I did say I'd have to get up early."

"Yeah, but you didn't say you'd fuck every ounce of energy out of me, first."

Looking extremely pleased with himself - well-deserved, in Reid's opinion - Luke used the light shining into the room to locate his clothes and started putting them on. Reid felt extremely pleased himself when he noticed Luke wincing whenever he made a particular movement.

When Luke was regretfully fully dressed he sat on the edge of the bed, smiling...well, there was really no other way of saying it.

_Lovingly._

Reid smiled right back.

"You have no idea what an appealing picture you make right now," Luke told him, gaze dragging slowly across Reid's body, still half-covered by a sheet.

Finally finding the right impulse to move, Reid propped himself up on one elbow, the other hand cupping the back of Luke's neck. "Stay."

Closing his eyes, Luke leaned towards him, noses brushing lightly together. "That sounds really good."

Dragging Luke in the tiny bit further necessary, Reid kissed him slowly, open-mouthed and for a very long time.

Finally wrenching away, Luke stood up straight - albeit rather shakily - stumbling on his feet.

Smirking to himself, Reid lay back on the bed, stretching languidly.

Luke narrowed his eyes. "You don't play fair. And you need a breath mint."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Reid replied casually, opening his legs wider, quirking his lips as Luke couldn't but follow the movement with his gaze. "No man's morning breath has ever tasted as minty as mine."

"Especially with essence of come on your tongue, right?" Luke asked pointedly.

"It merely adds to the natural pleasant flavour."

Sighing, Luke shook his head sadly. "It's not going to work."

"What's not going to work?"

"You being all funny and hot. Much as I'd like to, it's not going to make me stay." The quirk on Reid's lips flattened out. "I made a promise," Luke continued, "I have to keep it."

"Yeah, to your apparently incapable, co-dependent family."

Surprised, Luke gave him an odd look. "I'm going to take your overreaction as proof that you're really going to miss me and not that you're being deliberately rude."

Reid considered the options. "No, I was being deliberately rude." Luke glared at him. "What do you want me to say? It's the truth. Your relationship with your mother is frankly disturbing."

"I don't have time for this now," Luke sighed, "and it'd be really nice if you could try not to fight this relationship the morning after it gets serious. I'm not going anywhere and you know you aren't, either. I love you, you ass." With that last announcement, Luke turned towards the door and walked out.

Reid really didn't think during the next few moments. He just knew that as Luke unlocked and opened the door to the apartment, Reid was suddenly next to him, barring him from opening the door further. Luke stared at him.

Reid looked back. "I don't know why I did that. I mean, I do actually have some concerns about some - okay, most - of the relationships in your family, but last night..." How the hell did he talk about the previous night without descending into a sap-fest? The I love you's, the amazingly hot sex; even the talking. "I've never had a night like it."

Nodding slowly, Luke leant towards him and pressed a brief kiss against Reid's lips. "Yeah," he said agreeably, "me neither. I think that's why."

Frowning, confused, Reid could only stand there as Luke moved his arm aside and walked out of the apartment. "I'll call you about lunch," he called out, his shapely ass - along with the rest of his body - striding along the corridor until he turned to the left and disappeared out of sight.

The apartment door opposite creaked open, the neighbour peeking out. "What is all this _noise_ abou-?" Stopping abruptly, she stared at Reid in all his naked glory.

He waved, deciding there was only one way out of the situation. "It's four a.m.," Reid told her slowly, "you're having a dream. When you wake up in the morning, thank your subconscious for forever providing you with the mental image of my God-like physique." He paused for a moment, contemplating. "Also, when you wake up in the morning? Make me pancakes."

It was worth a try.

*

His ass really was sore and his thighs really were feeling the stretch as he walked his rounds at work later that morning.

It was totally worth it.

It was hardly the most fascinating work in the world and that annoying one, Alison - always a bundle of laughs - was his assistant again. She initially looked as happy about the task as he was at having to work with her. After a few minutes, though, he decided not to be an ass to her deliberately, as it would result in less quiet moaning on her behalf. It was only logical.

Ten minutes in, as they left one patient's room and headed towards another, she studied him suspiciously. "You're in a good mood, Dr Oliver."

"Am I?" Reid asked, flicking through a patient chart and bumping into someone in the process. Apologising automatically, he stepped around them and kept walking.

Muttering something about 'that being just creepy', Alison caught up with him a few moments later. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "There's Casey." She took a step towards him automatically before hesitating, glancing back at Reid.

"Go on," he waved her off, "say hello to your little boyfriend. But no making out or anything because I really don't want that image stuck in my head." As she hurried off, he continued reading through the latest information added to the chart. Eventually satisfied, he let go of the papers, letting them fan down.

Alison and Casey were a few feet away, huddling together, whispering and shooting looks in Reid's direction. When they noticed he was watching they stopped immediately and Casey started walking towards him. Alison grabbed onto Casey's arm, as if to stop him, but he looked back at her and shook her hand off, continuing on his journey.

"Hey, Dr O," Casey greeted.

"A joy as always, Littlest Hughes."

"New nickname?" he asked curiously.

"I'm feeling experimental," Reid shrugged. "Cleaned up much vomit today?"

Casey looked taken aback. "You actually care?"

"No," Reid shook his head, "I just thought humouring you might get this conversation over faster and then we can go back to ignoring each other."

"Iiiiiinteresting," Casey responding, narrowing his eyes. "Instead of just telling me to shut up or stop irritating you, you decided to humour me, instead. You _are_ in a good mood."

Reid glanced back to Alison significantly. "I suppose it was too much to hope that you were beyond gossip."

"Please, Doctor O, it's a hospital," Casey snorted, "there's _always_ gossip." That, at least, was true. "So, good night last night?"

That question was going nowhere. "My private life is none of your business."

"Add that to the bags under your eyes, and that's a yes," Casey grinned knowingly. "Good for Luke," he encouraged, "I didn't know he had it in him." Pausing, he apparently thought over what he'd just said, then realised what he'd just said and how it could be interpreted. "Uh. Not that I'm presuming that he actually had it in...for all I know, you could've...yeah, there's no way to end this conversation well. Bye!" With one last panicked movement, Casey literally ran off.

Watching him go, Alison stood there awkwardly, looking for all the world like she wanted to go with him.

Being a kind and benevolent man, Reid decided to be generous. "So," he turned away, walking towards the next patient's room as Alison scrambled to keep up, "tell me what you remember about Ms Lightfoot."

Jogging alongside to keep up with his quick steps, Alison started speaking. "Robin Lightfoot was admitted two days ago, after she went skydiving and someone tampered with her parachute..."

*

Luke called his office to leave a message about lunch, so just after one thirty, Reid strode through the doors into _Al's_. He'd already spotted Luke sitting at a booth by the window and headed straight for him. Luke smiled widely upon seeing him, giving Reid's heart a ridiculous little jolt, and he was just leaning in for a welcome kiss when Henry was there, causing them to jerk apart.

"The hero returns!"

Turning, Reid glared at him, before realising Henry served food. And this hero thing could come with compensations. "Does this mean I get free food?"

"I was talking about Luke," Henry argued, placing two glasses of water on the table. A particularly strong reflection of light from his shirt caught Reid right in the eye, making him wince and turn his head. "I understand the two of you are an item now?" He looked from one to the other, shaking his head, before focusing on Luke. "You have the patience of a saint."

"And your shirt is giving me a headache," Reid retorted, still unable to look at Henry straight on. "I literally need sunglasses."

Looking down at it, Henry made a pleased face. "I must make a note to wear this every day," he said to himself, before a voice yelled out from the kitchen. "I'll be back," he told them, hurrying off.

Left alone, they smiled stupidly at each other. Luke spoke first.

"How was your morning?"

"Good," Reid shrugged, "I had pancakes."

"Yes, because your morning must always be judged by the food you eat."

"You say that like there's something wrong with it."

"My mistake," Luke grinned, then changed topics. "Am I right in assuming you were about to kiss me before Henry intervened?"

"You assume correctly."

Luke arched his eyebrows deliberately. "Well?"

Deciding to do this properly, Reid stood up and slid into the booth next to Luke. "Better," he said.

"Much," Luke agreed, hooking a hand around Reid's arm and tugging him in close. The kiss was as good as that morning's, only this time neither one of them had morning breath so it was a distinct improvement. It was so good, in fact, that they promptly forgot about lunch and pressed up against each other in the booth. Reid was just starting to get hard when Henry intervened again.

"Whoa, whoa, family restaurant!" he announced in a squeaky voice. "Kissing's fine; groping, not so much."

Oh, yeah. Luke's hand was on his ass. Underneath his pants.

Staring down at Luke's reddened lips, Reid really wasn't hungry anymore. "Where's the nearest place?"

" _Lakeview_ ," Luke said in a rush, "I can get a room anytime I want."

Hand in hand - well, hand on wrist, really, due to Luke still being paranoid - they fled from the diner.

"I'm sending you the bill from the therapy I'll need for my trauma counselling!" Henry yelled after them.

Reid felt like he was coming out of his skin. He had to _be_ with Luke, _now_ , but the journey to the _Lakeview_ felt like it took forever, and then he had to _stand_ there at the desk while Luke got a room key, and he didn't give a damn what anyone thought as they stumbled into the elevator, Reid pushing Luke up against the wall and kissing the hell out of him.

The room, mercifully, was only a few doors from the elevator, and when Luke finally got the door open with shaky hands they fell inside. They made it to the bed only through luck and then their hands were everywhere; undoing buttons, zips, yanking off shirts and pants.

Soon it was just them, skin against skin and it was too much, too fast, there was no time for anything else as they frantically kissed, grinding against each other. 

"Oh my God," Luke gasped as Reid rotated his hips.

"So hot," Reid gasped back, reaching his hands down to cup both of Luke's ass cheeks as he humped up against him.

They lasted no time at all, really, and when Luke came, mouthing Reid's shoulder, Reid jerked and followed right after.

Panting, Luke eventually rolled off to one side until he was facing the ceiling. Glancing at each other, they shared a breathy chuckle.

"That was hot," Luke said.

"Yep."

"We're really good at that."

"Yep," Reid agreed. Luke rolled onto his side, facing him. Placing a hand on Reid's chest, he leant closer for a soft kiss. Smiling, he shifted closer still, tucking his head against Reid's chin. Reid decided this relationship stuff was awesome. "I didn't ask you how your morning was."

"Eh," Luke shrugged. "I saw Noah."

Right, that incredibly annoying phone call. "What did he want?"

"He's going to LA. With Mason."

Reid froze, an arm wrapped around Luke, staring at the ceiling. " _Forever?_ " Realising how desperately hopeful that sounded, he cleared his throat and tried again. "Forever?"

"No," Luke replied, sounding amused, "Jude Law saw the script for Noah's movie and-"

What? "Jude Law? Are you kidding me?" Director Boy actually had some talent?

"Apparently not," Luke shrugged. "He's a friend of a friend of a friend of someone who knows Mason. Anyway, he wants a meeting, see about adapting it into an actual feature film or something."

Reid was still shocked, but realised this wasn't actually about him. He regarded it as a very selfless moment on his behalf. "How do you feel about it?"

"I wished him luck," Luke shrugged, "but...I don't know. I mean, I definitely don't want him anymore, but the two of them going away to LA together...it just made me feel like my suspicions about Mason were correct, you know? It's not like any of his other students are going. It's just the two of them."

Reid considered it and came up with one conclusion: "Does that even matter now?"

Pausing, surprised at Reid's comment, Luke propped himself back up and studied him. "No," he said eventually, a smile beginning to form, a hand reaching out to gently touch the side of Reid's face. "No, I guess it doesn't." Smiling harder, he leant in towards Reid-

And a phone went off.

Huffing, Luke rolled off and thumped back onto the bed.

Reid knew precisely how he felt. "Siberia," he told Luke seriously. "Think about it."

Chuckling, Luke climbed off the bed and fumbled around inside his pants. Eventually finding the phone, he answered the call and brought it to his ear. "Hello? Oh, Margo, hi. What do you...oh," his voice flattened out dramatically.

Reid sat up.

"Is that really necessary? Right now? I'd really...yeah, yeah, this evening is much better, thanks," he said, turning to look at Reid. "Okay. Yeah. Okay, I'll see you later. 'Bye." Ending the call, he let his arm fall to his side.

Shuffling to the foot of the bed, Reid sat at the end and looked up at him. "What is it?"

"Margo," Luke announced, frowning down at his phone. "She wants me to talk to Damian."

*

Luke wouldn't tell Reid much detail - either that or there wasn't much detail to give. Margo had asked Luke to talk to Damian; that was all Reid knew.

He also knew it was a ridiculous thing to ask of Luke and, just as ridiculously, Luke said yes.

As they sat on the end of the bed together, though, Reid wrapped an arm around him and there was an implicit understanding that Reid would be going with him. In fact, Reid knew Luke had asked for a meeting in the evening for that very reason, so he wouldn't have to miss more time from work.

After a quick and passionless clean-up - the mood was definitely gone - they handed the room key in. The woman behind the desk gave them a strange look, obviously confused at Luke looking so upset and Reid appearing so concerned after how obvious they'd been about what they were about to do on the way up to the room.

Reid couldn't blame her.

They walked slowly to the hospital, Luke quiet and thoughtful, and when they arrived Reid grabbed Luke's face in both hands and planted one on him right there, in front of the nurses' station.

As planned, Luke brightened up considerably at the PDA, happy gaze fixed on Reid's mouth as he pulled back. "What was that for?"

"Eh, I'm crazy about you," Reid said casually, which made Luke brighten up even more. "You could stay here," he offered, "hang around in the doctor's lounge. Or the changing room. We could finally accomplish some of the locker room fantasies I've had since high school." He leered deliberately.

Chuckling, Luke shook his head. "Thanks, but I think I'll check out the Foundation. I'd rather have something to focus on. Keep myself busy."

Nodding, though disappointed, Reid understood. After one last kiss and murmured arrangements about coming to meet him at the end of the day, Luke left for the Foundation.

Once Luke was gone, Reid looked around to see all of the present nursing staff - actually, it was all of the present staff in general - staring at him.

Reid rolled his eyes. "Take a picture, people. It'll last longer."

Technically, as a Head of Department, Reid did have his own admin assistant. He never actually saw her, however, due to an unfortunate incident involving a combine harvester. Thus, Reid struggled through his paperwork heroically and in solo. Still banned from writing, he typed out a few extremely important e-mails incredibly slowly, and then he was called in to consult on a man who'd fallen off a ladder while putting his Halloween decorations up (it was still September. Reid didn't even ask). Quickly surmising they had to get him into surgery straight away, Reid wasn't allowed in to the OR but he advised from the observation room, having the feed from the in-surgery camera fed directly into the television screen set up on the wall.

It wasn't as good as the real thing. But when the patient survived the procedure, Reid decided it'd do for now.

Luke arrived just as Reid was in the staff room, taking off his lab coat.

"Hey," Reid greeted, turning back to throw his lab coat into the room's hospital laundry trolley. When he turned back around Luke was much closer, leaning in for a soft kiss.

"Hey," Luke replied, sliding his hands down to cup Reid's forearms. "You ready?"

Reid looked at him. "Are _you?_ "

Shrugging, Luke sighed. "Not really," he said honestly, "but let's get it over with."

Reid had actually never been inside the Oakdale Police Department, so when they walked in he glanced around with faint interest. Margo was sitting a desk, looking over something - Reid wondered if it was her desk, or if the Chief of Police in Oakdale actually got their own office. Somehow, he doubted it.

When she spotted them, she got to her feet and walked over towards them. "Luke," she nodded, "Dr Oliver. Thanks for coming."

"Where is he?" Luke asked immediately, for once eschewing polite convention.

"In interrogation," Margo told him reassuringly. "I haven't told him you're coming to see him."

"Good," Luke replied firmly, clearly wanting his visit to be a surprise.

"Dr Oliver," she said, changing her focus, "I read your report about what happened in Kentucky. It was quite remarkable. Normally I'm against civilians taking the law into their own hands," Margo gave Luke a significant look, something Reid decided he absolutely had to find the cause of later, "but given the circumstances, I think this time I'll simply congratulate you on a job well done."

Reid gestured with his hands. "Okay." Luke elbowed him. "Hey!" When Luke _looked_ at him, Reid realised the intent behind the elbow. "And thanks. I guess."

Quirking up one side of her mouth, Margo then got down to business. "Damian isn't giving us anything. The man you apprehended in Louisville..." Trailing off, she quickly headed back to the desk, picking up a file. Flicking through it, she read out a name. "Riccardo Dinella." She looked back up at them, then started making her away around the desk. "He's been extremely cooperative with the Louisville PD, but he was basically a hired thug on the Grimaldi payroll. He said that Damian only a used a few men for such tasks, but split the work between them. Before the kidnapping attempt, he hadn't done anything technically illegal for Damian for more than six months. Damian's most trusted 'advisor'-"

"Marco," Luke interrupted.

"Marco Staltari," Margo nodded, "vanished without a trace as soon as Damian was arrested. So the only person we can hope to get any further concrete information out of is Damian himself. And he's said..."

Luke sighed. "He'll only talk to me."

She nodded again. "He's confirmed that he'll tell us anything we want to know - but only if you talk to him first."

Body tense, shoulders stiff, Luke glared in the direction of what Reid presumed was the interrogation room. He placed a hand on the small of Luke's back.

"There's something else," she continued. "Dinella's testimony was enough to get a warrant to look into Damian's financials. He tried to cover his tracks, but the same day he likely realised that it wasn't you and your father in the truck, he opened an account in Malta under the name of..." She flicked over a piece of paper in the file to read the name before glancing back up. "Danilo Zicaro. Does that mean anything to you?"

"No," Luke frowned, shaking his head.

Margo looked at him significantly. "According to the account profile, Danilo Zicaro is your age."

Frowning even harder, Luke looked back over to the interrogation room. "I have no idea why he'd do that."

"Well, hopefully we'll find out," Margo retorted, closing the file. "Are you ready to go in?"

Pausing, Luke looked back at him. "Can Reid come with me?"

"As long as he doesn't interfere, yes." She fixed Reid with a warning glare. He raised his hands in an innocent, _who, me?_ gesture. "He's handcuffed to a secured metal bar beneath the table," Margo told them as she started leading them towards interrogation, "and there's an armed police officer already in the room." She paused with her hand on the door handle. "If you fear for your safety at any time-"

"Damian wouldn't hurt me," Luke insisted, then chuckled darkly. "Not physically, anyway." He straightened his back. "Open the door."

As promised, when the door swung open Damian was seated on the other side of the only table in the room. Head quickly lifting, he looked surprised, then smiled when he saw Luke.

"Luciano..."

Saying nothing in return, Luke walked quietly into the room, pulling out a chair at the nearest side of the table and sitting down. Reid sat next to him. Damian didn't look particularly pleased at that, but most of his attention was on his son.

"It's so good to see you unharmed," Damian told him genuinely, "when I first received news of the accident..." He shook his head at the memory. "And then when I realised the x-rays didn't match; that you were still alive..."

"You sensed an opportunity," Luke said darkly.

"It wasn't like that, Luciano," Damian argued immediately, a hand reaching out towards him. Damian's hand didn't get far, caught by the limited reach given by the handcuffs, but Luke snatched his own hand off the table anyway. "That's why I had to see you, explain. They can do what they want to me," Damian continued, gesturing towards Margo and the officer standing unobtrusively in the corner, "as long as _you_ know the truth."

"And what is the truth?" Luke asked, folding his arms across his chest - and sounding remarkably like Reid, in Reid's opinion.

"It was for you," Damian said quickly, "it was all for you. I know your family here care for you, even love you, but they cannot provide you with what you need." He sounded arrogant even to Reid - and Reid knew all about arrogance.

Luke looked equally unamused. "And what do I need?"

" _Opportunity_ ," he hissed. "How can you possibly make the most of life when you're stuck living in a miniscule town in a place of no consequence? You're a Grimaldi, Luciano. You deserve - and are entitled to - so much better."

"I told you a long time ago that I don't want to live the Grimaldi life."

"But you were young, then, Luciano. You're older now. You'll see sense, given time." He seemed certain; absolutely sure, like a man who'd just had a religious epiphany. He seemed pretty cuckoo, too.

"So, what was your plan? Change the x-rays over, take me back to Malta, then convince me to become this... Danilo Zicaro? Using what method?" he asked, as if the whole thing sounded absurd - which it really did. "Brain washing?"

"Nothing so intrusive," Damain sounded horrified, "just your own good judgement. Like I said, Luciano. You'll see sense. You're wiser now."

"Apparently not," Luke said harshly, even as he wiped at his left eye. "I can't believe I fell for your crap a second time. And what about Dad?" he suddenly asked. "My _real_ Dad?" Damian looked hurt at the comment, as was obviously intended. "I suppose he'd be a necessary casualty?"

"I'm not a murderer, Luciano, you know that," Damian denied. "He would've been kept comfortable."

"But a prisoner," Luke pointed out, "for the rest of his life. You know he would've tried to escape - probably getting himself killed in the process."

After a hesitation, Damian conceded. "Possibly. But with your father out of the picture, we could've been a real family, Luke - you, me and Lily, the way we were always meant to be." He eyes shined disturbingly; he really believed what he was saying. "A real family!" That statement had so many fallacies in logic Reid didn't even know where to start.

"I _have_ a real family!" Luke yelled, getting his well-deserved drama queen on. "They're called the Snyders! And they're _far_ from perfect but they're _mine!_ "

Damian was apparently beyond hearing what Luke was trying to tell him. "Think of all the things we could accomplish, Luciano. Together we could-"

Reid had heard enough. Damian had all the originality of a Bond villain. "Take over the world? Seriously, are you actually buying your own bullshit?"

Margo stepped closer. "Dr Oliver..."

Reid ignored her, addressing Damian. "I'm serious. Luke has made it _extremely_ clear that he wants nothing to do with you, but you just won't listen and keep waffling on." He snorted. "Do you really love the sound of your own voice that much? You're no different than his boneheaded ex."

" _Luciano_ is my son," Damian spat, "and this is nothing to do with you. I don't even know why you were permitted in here."

" _Luke_ is his own man, capable of his own choices and decisions. And I'm 'permitted' in here because Luke wanted me here. As it turns out, love's pretty awesome," he glanced towards Luke, winking at him. Luke shook his head at him but still seemed faintly amused.

"Love?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's an emotion you've never heard of."

Damian looked seriously displeased. "I love my son."

"No, Damian," Luke told him, "you don't love me. You want to control me. After all this time, you still want the perfect son," he shook his head sadly. "He doesn't exist," he added, "he never did! I'm always going to be flawed, imperfect, too passionate, gay, an alcoholic. That's never going to change, no matter what you or anyone else tries to do." He took a breath. "Loving me would mean accepting me the way I am," Luke added, turning his head to meet Reid's gaze. Reid nodded in acknowledgement.

"Luciano..." Damian began pleadingly.

Moving suddenly, Luke shoved his chair back and stood up. "My name is Luke. Luke Snyder. And I _never_ want to see you, talk to you, or communicate with you ever again. I don't even want you knowing anything about my life. Don't try and contact me." He turned towards Margo. "Are we done?"

"Oh, yes," she confirmed happily.

Nodding, Luke strode out of the room, pulling the door open and making his escape. Hurrying to his feet, Reid was set to follow just behind him, when...well. He couldn't help it.

"Holden may have issues," he told Damian, "okay, a lot of issues. And he's screwed Luke up a lot, just like you."

Damian squinted at him. "What's your point, Dr Oliver?"

"He just wants Luke to be happy," he shrugged. "For all his own faults, he accepts Luke just the way he is. And that?" he asked rhetorically. "That's love." Even he knew that. Piece said, Reid headed for the door.

"Do you?" Damian's voice asked, making Reid pause just before he reached the door.

Turning to look back at him, Reid studied Damian's surprisingly hopeful, curious expression. He knew exactly what he had to say.

"Bad Dad," he replied calmly, "that is no longer any of your business."

*

When Reid emerged from the interrogation room, he spotted Luke looking agitated through the glass doors that led into the police station foyer. Heading straight for him, Reid was brought up short when Jack deliberately stepped into view.

"Oliver-"

"Didn't know you were here," Reid interrupted.

Jack's face produced a dissatisfied expression. "Margo warned me to steer clear of this one," he explained, "one direct look at Damian's face and he'll probably end up with a bloody nose."

Glancing down at his still-bruised knuckles, Reid understood. He remembered perfectly the rush of adrenalin, the sensation of his hand instinctively forming a fist, the satisfying crunch of a freshly broken nose. At the time, the pain had barely registered - of course, reality had intervened shortly after, and he was immediately reminded how much punching someone in the face hurt. "That's a sentiment I completely understand."

"I'm sure you do," Jack agreed meaningfully. "Anyway," he continued after a few moments, "I just wanted to tell you to keep an eye on Luke."

Well, that was a completely ridiculous statement and Reid deliberately made a face showing how unimpressed he was at Jack's opinion of him. He didn't normally give a crap what anyone thought of him, but by now, even Reid was aware it was pretty damn obvious how much he cared about Luke.

Reid was about to let rip with a sarcastic reminder about him being the only one who actually did anything to bring Luke back, when Jack launched a zinger of his own.

"I've loved an alcoholic."

And suddenly it was a surprisingly powerful moment - a look of understanding, a nod of acknowledgement. They were both members of a pretty crappy club.

There was nothing else to say, then, so after another nod Reid turned away and walked towards the foyer. Still agitated, Luke was pacing in the small space and when he saw Reid approaching he made straight for the door that led outside.

Luke walked. Reid followed.

By the time they reached Old Town Reid was really hungry, but he had a feeling Luke wouldn't appreciate talk of food at the moment.

Luke had finally stopped walking, coming to a rest outside _Al's_. "He had to have been planning it for a while, right?" He asked, although it was plainly mostly to himself. "Damian's devious, but having all those ideas...they couldn't have all suddenly come out of nowhere at once. He was planning this - or my disappearance, or something like it - for a long time."

For once, Reid didn't want to give his honest opinion. "That seems the most likely scenario," he settled on eventually.

Nodding, Luke suddenly announced, "I need to go somewhere," swinging around energetically.

Reid had a suspicion of where. "Want me to go with you?"

"No. No," Luke shook his head sharply, "I want to do this alone."

Not liking the answer, Reid accepted it anyway. "Okay." He felt like he should say something. He wanted to say something. "Call me. Or come see me. My body is always available."

The comment fulfilled its function, breaking some of the tension and making Luke smile briefly. Leaning in, he didn't touch Reid aside from a brief brush of mouth against mouth. "I'll see you later," Luke said quietly, then walked away.

Reid watched him go, his insides a churning pit of emotion. He wanted to follow him. He didn't want to follow him. He wanted to protect Luke from all the disappointments that came with life. He wanted Luke to experience absolutely everything that life had to offer.

Nauseated by his own extremely saccharine thoughts, Reid decided in his own form of logic that he'd immediately feel better if he ate something.

Ten minutes later, he was biting into a chicken burger.

"I still don't get how any man can eat the way you do," Henry said, watching from the sidelines, "and look the way you do."

It was too easy. "Thanks, Hank," Reid said appreciatively, wiping a smidge of mayonnaise from the corner of his mouth.

"I didn't..." He paused deliberately. "I'm not even going to bother."

Disappointed, Reid decided to give an answer. "My metabolism's fast," he explained, reaching for a fry, "some of us have it," he glanced at Hank meaningfully, "some of us don't."

"Metabolism schmabolism," Henry argued.

His hand paused mid-fry-reach. " _What?_ " The people in Oakdale seemed to have a bizarre habit of creating entirely new words.

"Just wait 'til you hit forty," warned Henry, "you won't have that flat stomach or defined abs much longer."

Finally retrieving his fry, Reid brought it up to his mouth. "If you're still trying to convince me you're straight, you're failing miserably."

"Well," Henry said, sitting down across from Reid, "I could get my wife to come out here and describe, in vivid detail, the extremely creative and athletic sex we have together."

Ewww. "Hank, seriously. I'm _eating_."

Henry didn't seem in the least bit concerned. "Speaking of sex..." Yeah, Reid didn't like where this was going already. "You and Luke, huh? I knew it!"

"Yeah, yeah, you're a genius," Reid 'conceded', "only your masterful plan of leaving us in the apartment together actually got us nowhere when we got into a fight and Luke stormed out through the door."

"Katie did say we should lock you guys in somehow," he admitted. "For once, I was the sane partner in our escapade and insisted we didn't."

Reid was grateful for small mercies. Katie and Henry interfering at all had been bad enough, if they'd actually locked the door...well, actually, it could've gone from bad to worse, or it could've made Luke and Reid actually talk about what was happening between them.

Not that Reid was about to admit that to Henry of all people. "Fortunately, Luke and I are both smart men who have excellent taste. We figured it out ourselves, eventually."

"Right, and it only took him _dying_ for you to get your act together." There wasn't much Reid could say to that, being the truth. "Speaking of Luke, where is he?"

And it was only in that moment that Reid realised what a good distraction Henry had been (and there was a part of him that thought maybe, just maybe, he'd come in to _Al's_ deliberately, knowing Henry would keep him busy. Maybe).

"Went to see Damian, earlier. At the station." He studied his food.

Henry's mood dropped, too. "Oh."

"Heard some harsh truths. Now he's moping," Reid explained, "wants to be left alone."

Frowning, Henry tilted his head. "He said that?"

"Yeah."

Suddenly and without warning, Henry whipped up the plastic-coated menu in his hand and whacked Reid over the head with it.

Reid's own hands immediately flew up, too late, to protect his head. "Hey! What the hell?!"

"Do you know _nothing_ about relationships?" Henry demanded, still wielding the menu in a potentially life-threatening manner.

"Are you _actually_ insane?" Reid asked, most importantly. "I know there's enough of you in this town already to entirely populate your own asylum, but seriously!" Then: "And no!"

Henry completely ignored Reid's rant, which was really quite frustrating since Reid thought it was pretty good comeback. Instead, he focused on the relationship lessons. "When your partner tells you they want to be alone, what they're actually saying is 'I don't want to be alone, I want you to track me down and show me how much you care about me'."

This was beyond ridiculous. "Look, Hank, that might be the way things work between you and Paris-"

"Vienna."

"Whatever. But Luke knows I don't play those kind of games - at least not deliberately," he conceded. "If I wanted him around or if I wanted space, I'd tell him the truth - and vice versa."

"Does Luke know that?"

"Of course he..." But when he thought about it...did Luke know that, absolutely? Reid had certainly made it clear enough that he didn't play those kinds of games, that he was always going to tell the truth - or at least some version of it. Luke hadn't made a similar declaration but Reid hadn't thought he'd needed to - Luke wore his emotions on his face, for all to see. It was almost always easy to know exactly what Luke wanted, and he'd seen the determination on his face. At that moment, he wanted to be left alone. "Yeah. He does."

"If you say so," Henry shrugged, but he clearly didn't believe it.

"What is it that qualifies you as the self-proclaimed love guru of Oakdale, exactly? Because the entire time I've known you, I've never seen you and Vienna actually in each other's presence for longer than a few seconds."

Gaze falling, Henry ran his finger over a slight imperfection in the table. "We've had...issues, for a while now. Nothing that's anyone's fault," he hastened to add, looking back up. "I don't think either one of us really knows how to deal with it."

Reid, unfortunately, remembered well the first time he ever saw Henry and the conversation he'd been having with Katie at the time. "You lost the baby," he said quietly.

Nodding quickly, Henry glanced off to one side. "Brad and Katie...they had so much trouble getting pregnant. Vienna was going to be their surrogate, but then it turned out to be my baby after all." Still looking away, he smiled to himself in memory. "My baby." Smile vanishing, he blinked heavily, attempting to clear his eyes. "But then she...lost it. And ever since then..." he sighed. "It's like we don't know how to talk to each other anymore."

"Hank, you could talk for America," Reid pointed out.

"Oh, I talk all right," Henry responded, "but it's all meaningless drivel."

Reid lifted a fry in silent toast. "For once, we're in agreement."

Making a face, Henry continued. "'How are you, dear? Have a nice day, dear? Did you see what Oprah was wearing yesterday, dear? Pass the salt, dear.'" He became more agitated the longer he spoke. "Nothing that _means_ anything."

The answer seemed obvious to Reid. "Then make it mean something. Get Katie to lock the two of _you_ up somewhere and not let you out until you actually talk about it."

"I couldn't do that..." Henry replied immediately, but even as he said it he seemed to be contemplating the idea.

There was only one thing Reid could think to say to give Henry a metaphorical whack around the head - as opposed to the real one Reid had received earlier. "It took a tragedy to make me and Luke stop being idiots. Don't let a tragedy tear you and Vienna apart - or this time, you'll be the idiots."

*

Reid ended up spending his evening on the sofa, with a cushion and the remote control for company.

"Aww," Katie said quietly, pausing when she and Brad walked through the door. Reid quickly changed channels from the animal rescue show as Katie walked up to the sofa, sat at the other end and regarded Reid sympathetically.

Reid really needed to get his own place. But then Katie _was_ still making those sandwiches she owed him...

Brad then joined them, only he squeezed in between the two of them, right next to Reid, smiling at him broadly.

Reid definitely needed to get his own place.

"We heard Luke went to see Damian," Katie told him, peering around Brad.

"Heard?" Reid asked. "You mean Hank called and told you everything."

Caught, Katie let out an embarrassed laugh. "Yeah, that's about right."

Hmm. "Were you really going to lock us up in the apartment, the day of your stunning plan?"

Even more embarrassed now, she sat back and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Well, I-"

"What's he talking about?" Brad asked.

Oh, this was too good - and the perfect way to divert attention from him. "Didn't they tell you?" he asked rhetorically, making Brad face him even as Katie made frantic shushing gestures behind Brad's head. When Reid continued, she glared at him. "Hank and Katie tried to trap the two of us in here before we got together, assuming we'd...I don't know. Suddenly declare our devotion to each other?" he asked, looking at Katie. "Rip each other's clothes off? I'm not entirely sure what your plan was."

"Neither am I," she admitted. "It just seemed like a good idea!"

"Katie," Brad began, just as the doorbell sounded.

Eager for the chance to get away from them, Reid stood up, shoving Brad back down onto the sofa. "Allow me." Quickly swinging open the door, he froze. "Luke."

He smiled sheepishly. "Hey."

Reid shifted in place. "How you doing?"

"Not sure," Luke shrugged. "I thought..." He paused for a few moments, before blurting it all out. "I thought I needed to deal with this, these issues with Damian, alone. But I realised that's just how I've been dealing with everything over the last few months because I've had to. I've not been...used to someone having my back immediately. Being there for me as soon as I need them." Pausing, he stood there looking nervous.

Reid felt stupidly excited, trying to dampen the feeling down. "I told you earlier," he said with forced calm, "my body is ready and waiting for you, any time you want it."

It produced a small smile again and then Luke stepped forward, wrapping his arms around Reid, burying his head against Reid's shoulder. Reid immediately hugged him back, closing his eyes.

This felt better. This felt _right._

"I want to deal with everything with you," Luke murmured quietly.

That sounded like a great plan to Reid. "I can do that," he replied, rubbing a hand up and down Luke's back. " _We_ can do that."

Another "aww" sounded from behind them. Regretfully, Reid pulled back - although not out of Luke's arms. "Let's get some privacy, shall we?"

"Sounds good," Luke told him with a soft smile, allowing Reid to tug him through the main apartment area towards Reid's room. "Katie, Brad," he greeted quickly and a little awkwardly.

"Hi, Luke!" Katie greeted in return, beaming, one hand pressed against her chest.

Hastening his pace, eager to escape the current onlookers, Reid hurried into the bedroom and closed the door behind them. "There," he announced, relieved. "Now it's just us." Facing Luke, Reid stepped in closer, smiling as he placed his hands either side of Luke's waist. "Want me to show how much I care about you?" he joked, remembering Henry's 'advice'.

"Reid," Luke said seriously - incredibly seriously - staring into his eyes, hooking his arms over Reid's shoulders, "you do that every single day."

*

Screwing each other's brains out while wearing their new robes had been, quite frankly, one of Reid's best ideas, ever. And he'd had a lot of excellent ideas.

Luke was so incredibly tight and responsive around his cock and that combined with the soft, luxurious material covering most of his body made it an amazingly potent experience.

Luke groaned softly under him, tipping his head back against the pillow, hands grabbing, pulling Reid close, sliding frantically over the smooth material covering Reid's back.

"So hot," Luke grunted, meeting Reid's every thrust with one of his own, "I'm so hot."

Reid was hot too, baking, on fire, but it only heightened the experience. But if it was too hot for Luke, if he wasn't really enjoying it...

"Don't you dare stop," Luke warned in response to Reid's instinctive slowing down.

Chuckling, reminded that of course Luke would tell him if he didn't like it - at least when it came to sex - Reid leant down for a messy, utterly debauched kiss. Losing himself in it for a while, he nearly forgot his original intention, but when he pulled away with a groan he remembered, ceasing his movements completely, leaning his mouth down to Luke's ear. "Wrap your legs around me."

Complying immediately, Luke wrapped his legs around Reid's body, crossed feet resting on the curve of Reid's robe-covered ass.

"Knew riding horses would come in useful for something," Luke quipped, making Reid chuckle as they shared a warm look. After another extremely good kiss, Reid held Luke's gaze as he slowly pulled out, then rocked back in.

Making a pleased noise, Luke tugged Reid's head back down for a kiss as Reid continued to build tempo. Eventually it reached a point where there was no elegance about it at all - Luke's legs couldn't maintain their grip, frequently sliding off the soft material (though he earned points in Reid's book for his persistence in trying), the front of their robes were a rumpled, tangled mess, squashed tightly between their bodies and Luke was hot, so hot, such a perfect fit around him that in the end Reid pressed his head into Luke's neck and thrust mindlessly with no control at all, fucking Luke with everything he had.

Luke _loved_ it if the sudden wail was anything to go by, clutching Reid to him as he shook, his come flooding into the limited space between them, soaking into cloth and skin alike. When Reid's own orgasm came he felt like he was shaking to pieces from the inside out.

"Bite me," Luke growled and Reid didn't even think about it, just followed the instruction and put the last of the orgasm into the bite, shuddering with the intensity. Jerking beneath him, Luke let out another small moan, another small stream of come leaking from his cock.

Reid really didn't want to move, cocooned amongst the robes with Luke, but knew he had to. Gently pulling out he kind of rolled off, disposing of the condom as he tried to catch his breath. Next to him, Luke started tugging uselessly at his own robe.

"Off, off," he ordered, panting. "I'm so hot."

That was true in so many ways.

Feeling smug, Reid nonetheless generously rendered his assistance and soon they were both helping each other out of their sweaty, dirty robes. When Reid's arm got stuck they both broke out into quiet laughter, and they were still smiling when the robes were finally removed completely, wadded up into a ball and thrown onto the floor.

"Our beautiful robes," Luke mourned with exaggeration, flopping back onto the bed, "they're ruined."

Sprawled on his front, facing Luke, Reid closed his eyes as his skin started to cool. "It'll come out in the wash." He thought about what he'd just said. "Ha, get it? The come'll come out in the wash."

Luke snorted with amusement. "You are such a dork."

"I was a dork in high school," Reid admitted. "Science geek. Not many friends."

"You don't have many friends now," Luke pointed out with good humour, although it was clear he didn't really believe it.

"True," Reid replied, opening his eyes to see Luke lying on his side, his still-flushed face smiling at him. "What about you?"

"Me? I have a decent amount of friends, I guess-"

"No, at high school," Reid explained. "Hank told me you were a jock."

"Basketball," he confirmed. "But that was only the last couple of years. The first couple...I was pretty dorky, too. Pocket protectors, the whole deal. That was when I really started writing."

Yeah, Reid could imagine Luke being extremely studious at school, taking the work incredibly seriously. In that way, they were definitely alike. "When did you come out?"

Luke winced. "That's a very long, very painful story that resulted in an almost constant drinking binge."

After a day like today, Reid wasn't about to ask Luke to dredge all of that back up. "Okay."

Studying Reid, Luke inched his body closer. Still on his front, Reid lifted an arm to let Luke cuddle in underneath. "Thank you," Luke said gratefully.

Yeah, that totally wasn't necessary. "For having sex with you?" Reid queried disbelievingly. "Because I really think the gratitude should be flying in the other direction."

Beaming, Luke turned his head and pressed a kiss to Reid's arm. "I just mean...this was _so_ much better than beating the crap out of my hands at the gym."

"That's what I expected you to do," Reid said.

"I was going to," Luke told him, producing an embarrassed smile, "I even went to the gym - then realised I couldn't put the gloves on right by myself. It turned out to be useful, anyway," he explained, "because then I was forced to start thinking instead of just _feeling_. I was so angry at Damian," Luke said, gaze becoming unfocused as he thought about whatever was running through his head. "At myself for allowing Damian to trick me again. I distrusted him for so long. When he came back this time, it was months before I'd even give him the time of day. But he stuck around, kept telling me, over and over again that he'd changed, that he wanted a relationship with me so much that he didn't care any more than I was gay. And after a while..."

Reid nodded his head towards Luke. "You started believing him."

"You hear something often enough, you start to believe it's true."

Reid had long since thought that Luke blamed himself for far too much. His statement now made Reid think extremely interesting things about why he accepted the treatment he had while he was with Noah. There were no doubt issues that stemmed from his parents' constant back and forth, but Reid was extremely curious to know just how often Noah had told Luke that something was his fault.

"Anyway," Luke continued, "before I came over I went to see my parents."

And _that_ was a segue. "...okay?"

"Told them about Damian. And that I'd still help them when I was available but that, right now, I need some time to myself."

Reid figured it out. "Are you actually telling me," he began, "that Little Luke doesn't have a curfew tonight?"

"Shut up," Luke laughed, slipping an arm under Reid's to slap lightly at his back. "I was about to pay you a compliment, but never mind."

Well, that just wouldn't do. "I think I should tell you, it's vital to your future well-being that you share any compliments with me immediately."

"Your ego's huge enough as it is."

"It's not the only thing that's huge," Reid argued, waggling his eyebrows.

Rolling his eyes, Luke eventually conceded with a shrug. "I was just going to say that I really needed to work some...energy off. So, you know," he smiled with only vague embarrassment - a decided improvement, "thanks."

Moving, Reid used his weight to push Luke onto his back, straddling his waist, reaching out and gently running his fingers over the bite mark. He hadn't broken the skin. "What was this about?" he asked, moving his eyes from the mark to meet Luke's gaze.

Unashamed, Luke lifted his arm to carefully place his own fingers over the faint mark still present on Reid's shoulder. "You really seemed to like it before. Thought I'd try it."

That seemed fair. "And?"

His skin flushed, but he didn't look away. "You don't need a verbal response to know I liked it."

"I don't," Reid agreed with a predatory smile, fingers still running over the indentations in Luke's skin.

"And now we have matching tattoos, sweetheart," Luke mocked sweetly, batting his eyes.

Laughing, Reid shook his head. "I'll get 'Property of Luke Snyder' tattooed on my ass, since you're certainly the only one going there." Luke seemed incredibly pleased at that statement. Tipping his head to one side, Reid narrowed his eyes as he stared at Luke, wanting to test a theory, still touching the bite mark. When Luke nodded, albeit apprehensively, Reid pressed down suddenly and firmly.

Gasping, Luke tipped his head back, biting at his bottom lip.

Reid smiled as he felt Luke's cock swell slightly against him, then stopped applying pressure. It'd be a while until he was ready again, but there was nothing to say he couldn't keep Luke occupied in the meantime. "Pain kink, huh?"

"Apparently," Luke replied cautiously, staring up at him with big eyes.

Smirking, Reid nodded slowly. "I can work with that."

*

When they stumbled out of the bedroom in the morning, they were both a little black and blue - where no one else could see. Katie was eating breakfast on the sofa while Brad was sipping coffee next to the kitchen counter.

If the term 'shit-eating grin' actually had a dictionary definition, Katie's smile would've matched it exactly.

"Morning, guys!" she greeted enthusiastically. "Sleep well? Because we didn't."

Reid rolled his eyes, while Luke stood around looking embarrassed.

"Good," Reid announced, heading for the coffee himself, "then you won't need a play-by-play." Taking two mugs out of the cupboard, he poured two cups from the machine, handing one to Luke. "Don't know how you like it."

"Didn't sound that way last night," Brad pointed out. "Seriously, those are sounds I never needed to hear my little cousin make, man."

Flushing bright red, mortified, Luke shoved the cup back into Reid's free hand. "I gotta go," he declared, turning around and practically bolting for the door.

Dumping the coffees - almost over Brad's head, but at the last second he thumped them down on the counter, instead - Reid jogged after him. Catching up in the corridor, he grabbed Luke's arm, swinging him back towards him. "Luke."

"I know it's silly," Luke blurted out immediately, "immature. That I have these hang-ups about sex-"

"Hey, hey," Reid interrupted, clasping Luke's upper arms in his hands, "I was about to say that Brad's the one who needs to grow up, not you. You think I enjoy it when I hear those two going at it?" Surprised, Luke's face quickly transformed into an expression of disgust. "Exactly," Reid replied, releasing Luke's arms. "A little embarrassment is fine. He crossed the line into humiliation."

Somewhat mollified, Luke nodded awkwardly. "Okay. But, maybe next time...we could make...other arrangements..."

Yeah, it was definitely time. "I was thinking about getting my own place."

Luke's eyes widened. "Really? I mean..." he shrugged, "...I know we've been doing a pretty good job of not discussing the details very much - I haven't really wanted to, to be honest, because it's like we've been living in our own little bubble - but when Paul gets his memory back-"

"I told you already," Reid pointed out, "I'll stay wherever you are."

"But Reid," he said passionately. "Everything you've accomplished - you can't throw it all away!"

"Who's to say I am?" he asked. "I still have a personal and financial investment in the Centre and, once I'm cleared for the OR again, I'll be dealing with the more challenging cases personally. And there's nothing to say I can't fly out there if I need to, with - and I can't believe I'm saying this myself - Oakdale as my base."

"But your whole life-"

"Is here," Reid reminded him, cupping his face with both hands. "I said this before, too, so you really need to believe it this time. My job was in Dallas. But my _life_ is here. With you. Hell," he said honestly, "I didn't really have one before I met you."

Swallowing heavily, Luke brought his shaky hands up to Reid's shoulders. "You don't do anything half-way, do you?"

"Never saw the point in half-measures," Reid agreed. "Why do a half-assed job when a proper job will be so much more effective?" He took in Luke's shock. "And you think I don't know how crazy this is? I know exactly how crazy this is; it hasn't even been two months and in that time you've dumped a crappy ex, survived a kidnapping attempt and we're this serious already. You've turned my entire life upside-down," Reid concluded, "changing every expectation I ever had about relationships. Well," he conceded, "that's not entirely true, because some aspects of relationships I was completely right about - but it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if it's too sappy or cheesy or emotional or clingy because _I'm in love with you_ , you nitwit, and you said you were in love with me too-"

"I am!"

"Good," he nodded firmly. "So if we're doing this relationship thing, we're doing it properly, working out the details as we go - as long as we're both ready for it. Step number one: you help me to pick out an apartment."

"You want me to help you?" Luke asked happily.

"I plan to screw you on every available surface," he shrugged, "so it'd probably be best for both of us if you like the place."

"Can't argue with that logic," Luke replied cheekily. "Okay, then." He straightened up, causing Reid to finally move his hands away. "You go to work. I'll go into research mode."

"It pays to have a rich househusband who can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants." And he actually didn't mean that sarcastically.

Luke smirked. "I guess you're just a lucky, lucky man, Dr Oliver."

"Yeah," Reid said, nodding his agreement, "tell me something I don't know."

*

"So, here's the thing," Reid said the moment she answered the phone.

Susie sighed, as if she'd known what was coming all along. "You're staying in Oakdale."

That was much easier than he'd expected it to be. "Yeah, pretty much."

She was silent for a while, then spoke. "You are such a pain in the ass."

That was nothing new. "This is hardly news."

"No, but now you're a pain in the ass in completely new ways. Do you know what it's like having to work with these people without you around?"

Reid genuinely thought about it, remembering the frequent friendly 'complaints' she made about some aspect of his character. "Less stressful? Easier to deal with? Like Disneyland, only this time it's not run by an evil corporation?"

"It's _boring_ ," she complained. "There's still some drama - there always is - but for the most part they just get on with their jobs."

"I always just get on with my job," he argued.

She continued, apparently unhearing or uncaring. "None of them tell me it's time to dye my roots, or put Dallas Animal Rescue on the TV in the lounge when they think no one is looking."

Reid certainly wasn't about to comment on _that_ utterly ridiculous statement, but he could translate what she was trying to say. "So, what you're saying is - you miss me."

"Of course I miss you," she told him openly, "no one else brings me coffee in the morning. I've been having to buy my own on the way in for _weeks_ now. Do you know how much they charge for that stuff? I'm not on a neurosurgeon's salary."

Quirking his lips up, Reid lowered his head. "Ah, so you only miss me for my money - I knew it was something." He paused. "It is...weird not having you around all the time," he confessed eventually. "Mostly because my PA here is non-existent due to some freak farming accident. I've been having to do almost everything myself." Which was inconvenient, but something he was able to deal with at the moment due to all the time he wasn't spending in the OR. If a replacement didn't turn up soon, however, he was going to have to have words with Bob.

"And you still want to stay?" she asked, impressed. "He must really be something."

Reid immediately became quiet and thoughtful, thinking about Luke in his bed last night, the soreness in his own muscles, the soreness from deliberate gentle bruising and bite marks. "Yeah. He is."

"Oh my God," Susie said, sounding in awe, "you should hear your voice right now. It's adorable!"

And just like that, Reid was back in the present. "Hey, I'm totally willing to admit I'm nuts about the guy, but that still doesn't make me adorable. Adorable is a word that is simply not part of Reid Oliver's character. It will _never_ be a part of Reid Oliver's character."

"Keep telling yourself that," she replied. "Also: newsflash. Talking about yourself in the third person is kind of adorable. And I bet if I ask that Luke guy, he'd agree with me."

That proved nothing at all. "Of course he'd agree with you - he's like the the most stupidly cheesy person I've ever met. Apparently, eveything I do is _romantic._ "

She scoffed. "You?"

"Exactly," he agreed, "see what I have to deal with?"

"And yet..."

He knew where this was going. "And yet I'm crazy about him anyway. He's the antithesis of everything I thought I'd have in a relationship - if I ever actually had one."

"I guess it's true what they say, Reid - you don't get to choose who you love."

"Believe me, that's something I've already realised - but now that I'm here, in this, I want the whole enchilada. He's completely disrupted all the plans I've ever had for my life, changing every single one of them - even down to where I live."

"And you couldn't be happier," Susie told him knowingly.

Smiling to himself slowly, he nodded. "As it turns out, this love stuff is pretty awesome."

She laughed briefly. "I can't tell you how strange it is to hear _you_ of all people talking about _love_ of all things in such a positive light. I know you never really talk about your parents-"

That comment took his mood down immediately. "Susie," he warned.

"I'm not getting into the details," she insisted, "I just wanted to say that whatever bullshit they put you through, I'm really glad it's not getting in the way of your relationship with Luke." Pausing, she then went on to say something so upsetting, so shocking, that Reid was completely flummoxed: "I'm proud of you."

Reid wrinkled up his nose. "Are you _ill?_ "

"No, I'm genuinely proud of you," she insisted, "and I mean that absolutely sincerely. No mocking, no sarcasm, no teasing. This is me, Susie Cole, being proud of you, Reid Oliver, for dealing with this situation in an actual adult manner."

He contemplated how to respond, eventually coming up with, "I can't decide if I should just say 'thank you' so you'll shut up and stop talking about it, or complain at length - and in great detail - about how unbelievably patronising you're being."

"You could do both," she suggested, "but I have a better idea."

"And what is that, O Wise One?"

"Figure out how we're going to tell the others you're not coming back."

Actually grateful for a discussion that wasn't about his personal life (although - how bizarre was it that he now had an actual personal life to discuss?), Reid immediately launched into an explanation of some thoughts and ideas he'd had. Some of them he'd already discussed with Luke - Reid still flying out if he had to, staying in frequent communication with the Centre - but the day-to-day running, that would have to change. Reid hadn't particularly enjoyed being a beauracrat, but the Centre was his baby and he'd had to be greatly involved when it first opened, then sharing out the obligations as time went on. Reid still held ultimate authority, though, because it gave him the leeway to arrange his schedule to be in the operating room as often as his responsibilities would allow.

Barbara's comment from a few weeks ago had turned out to be true, though, much as he preferred to be thought of as indispensible. For the most part, the Centre was getting on just fine without him - something that Susie confirmed.

"Sutherland's been doing a decent enough job in your place," she told him, "although he looks like he's getting even less sleep than usual."

"He wears a lot of hats," Reid said contemplatively. Although Ben had a lot of responsibilities, Reid had thought him the right person for the job - and Reid didn't give praise lightly. That had been a temporary assignment, though, before Oakdale had sunk its claws into him, when Reid had still thought he was going back. Long-term, he had someone very different in mind. "There's a way we could help him," Reid suggested, "you could take over."

There was a profound silence. " _Me?_ "

He nodded. "If you wanted to."

"Reid, I..." she seemed to have difficulty finding words, a reaction Reid always enjoyed producing. "That's an extremely generous offer, but I'm not a doctor-"

"Well I'm not suggesting you dive into an OR and cut someone's skull open," he pointed out, "you still leave that to the actual neurosurgeon's. But the rest of it - meetings, paperwork, beauracracy. You're the only other one who was there right from the beginning, Susie, when I had no other doctor's on board; when everyone thought it as a ridiculous pipe dream and I was still trying to drum up funding. You know how that place runs inside-out. You know it as well as I do. No one else is better qualified."

"I don't know," she said slowly, but even as she spoke it sounded like she was thinking over the idea.

"Yeah, it'll mean a lot of change," Reid told her, "and because you aren't a doctor, you'll have to consult with staff a lot more frequently. We'll probably have to entirely re-think or re-organise the top end of the work hierachy."

"Exactly," Susie pointed out, "maybe it'll be too much change. I don't think the others would like having someone in charge who isn't a doctor."

"A valid concern," he conceded, "but you're not just _any_ person who isn't a doctor. Like I said, you know how the Centre works better than anyone else - they know that. And they all already like and respect you, because you put up with me on a daily basis."

"That does take a great deal of fortitude and patience," she agreed, sounding more like her old self.

"Think about it," he told her, "seriously. You know for a fact that I wouldn't suggest this if I didn't think you were capable - I have too much invested in this personally. It'll mean a lot more money, but it'll also mean a lot more hours and responsibility. Talk it over with the boyfriend-"

"Are you ever going to use his name?"

Reid snorted. "We've had this conversation. A name that terrible is never rolling off my tongue."

He could perfectly picture Susie as she rolled her eyes, and then she sighed. "I honestly don't know what to say to this."

"Just think about it. And Susie?" He paused, deciding to tell her the truth. "This was always my plan. When I got too old, or my hands got too unsure - or the paperwork just got too tedious. This was always my plan."

*

An hour after the phone call with Susie, Reid was still in his office, slowly making his way through what paperwork he could. Suddenly the door burst open and Luke appeared, looking upset.

Reid stared at him. "Don't tell me they actually had an apartment out of your price range."

Making a face, Luke shut the door behind him, then perched carefully on the chair at the other side of the desk. "Haven't even had time for that, yet," he said and Reid realised this was actually serious. Standing up, he stepped around the desk and ended up leaning against it, watching Luke.

"What's wrong?"

"Damian again," Luke shook his head, laughing quietly at himself as if he was being ridiculous, even as he managed to keep looking upset at the same time. "I got to the farm. Avoided some awkward looks from my parents. Took a shower." He paused. "I'd barely been dressed five minutes when Margo arrived."

Reid nodded, carefully studying Luke's every reaction. "And?"

"He kept his word," Luke said, "Damian confessed to everything. And I mean everything," he explained. "Apparently," he took a deep, shaky breath, "it had been his plan, right from the beginning. The whole reason he came back to Oakdale in the first place was to find some way to get Mom and I to go back to Malta with him. He had that fake identity created for me before he even came back; he was just waiting for the right opportunity to 'launch' it. Did you know that I have a house in Malta under that name? There are school records, work records, medical records - all for a man who doesn't exist."

That level of twistedness was inspired. Reid was almost impressed.

"And that wasn't all," Luke continued, "he confessed to setting the explosion that injured Paul. Planting the evidence against him."

Reid's eyes widened. "That was Damian? Why?"

"No one was actually meant to get hurt, supposedly," Luke shrugged, "but Damian seemed to think it would be good for his business interests to build on the rivalry between Paul and Dusty."

Stupid name guy, right. "The guy I operated on after the car crash."

"Yeah," he sighed, "that was Damian, too."

This was ludicrous. "What is he - a one-man crimewave?"

"Apparently," Luke threw a hand up, letting it flop back down into his lap. "He said it was a warning to Dusty, to stop digging into the cause behind the explosion. Apparently he was getting too interested and, despite his dislike of Paul, had made it public that he didn't think Paul was responsible."

Disbelieving, Reid shook his head. No wonder Luke was upset - in the space of a couple of months, his biological father had developed a rap sheet a mile long.

"Also,"

"Oh, you _have_ to be kidding me."

Luke shook his head gloomily. "They're looking for Dr Channing as a 'person of interest'."

 _Channing?_ " _Channing?_ " How the hell was he involved?

"That microchip he said he couldn't remove?"

It all slotted into place. "Damian paid him off not to." Reid hadn't thought much of Channing, but from all accounts he was a reasonable neurosurgeon. Reid had thought his interests in not removing the microchip were entirely self-motivated because he didn't want to risk a law suit if something went wrong. Now he knew Channing really was self-motivated, only it was all for money.

"Although Paul's injuries were an accident, it ultimately worked better into Damian's plans if he never woke up. With the evidence planted by Damian and no kind of testimony from Paul at all..."

"The blame could be shifted to him." Amazing. Paul's amnesia had ended up being pretty convenient for Damian, too. "So, Channing's family emergency was no emergency at all."

Luke nodded. "He just took the money and ran. Something about gambling debts."

They sat there. Reid had to admit to feeling a little stunned. Bending at the knees, he leant down, resting his palms on top of Luke's legs. "Anything else?" he asked quietly, meeting Luke's emotional gaze. "Secret twin sister? He's secretly a zombie who feasts on human flesh? He's actually fifteenth in line to the British throne?"

Chuckling, Luke sniffed, shook his head, then threw he arms around Reid. Returning the hug, Reid closed his eyes. "It's okay," he said quietly, "it's okay."

"God," Luke sniffed again, face buried against Reid's shoulder, "I come from some good stock, right?"

Turning his head, Reid pressed a kiss against whichever part of Luke his mouth could reach. "Best of your line," Reid retorted, before admitting, "not that that's hard."

Laughing, Luke pulled Reid in tighter. "I love you," he breathed into Reid's neck, "I don't know what I ever did to deserve-"

"Hey, none of that nonsense," Reid ordered, pulling back - and man, this was really starting to hurt his knees. And his thighs, which had forgotten how athletic sex could be. "Remember that thing where you repeat everything I say?"

Luke's teary eyes blinked back at him. "Yeah."

"Good. Repeat after me: My name is Luke Snyder. I am awesome."

He chuckled, wiping at his nose. "Reid..."

"Repeat after me," he insisted, "my name is Luke Snyder. I am awesome."

Rolling his eyes good-naturedly, Luke gave in. "My name is Luke Snyder. I am awesome."

"My biological father is a dick. I am not."

Laughing louder, Luke smiled as he spoke. "My biological father-"

The door burst open again, making Reid stand up - with a silent groan. Luke turned in his chair.

Barbara Ryan stepped into the room. "Dr Oliver," she said, looking happier than he'd ever seen her. In fact, she looked downright ecstatic. It was pretty damn creepy. "Have you heard the wonderful news?"

Oh, well, that actually made sense. "Just now," Reid replied, gesturing towards Luke. "Knowing Damian was behind the explosion must make Paul feel-"

"No, no, not that," she stepped in futher, "although..." hesitating, she glanced between them. "I didn't actually know that. But it doesn't matter now, anyway."

"Why's that?" Luke asked.

"It's Paul!" she announced, smiling broadly. "He remembers everything!"

*

"I had to leave the house early for something at work," Barbara explained, leading them out of Reid's office, "and when I came back during a break to check on Paul, his memories were back."

"How did it happen?" Reid questioned, following closely behind her.

"He said that when he woke up, he just knew everything. Who he was, who I was, all the things he'd done - he even remembered the explosion."

That was somewhat unexpected. "That's good. Even when amnesia patients get their memories back, they often never remember the causal event." That said, it was debatable whether remembering the explosion that took away his memories and burnt his legs to crap was a good thing. "Has he complained of any headaches, blackouts?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Barbara offered brightly, as they turned a corner and Paul was revealed to be in his wheelchair at the nurses station with Emily standing next to him, her hand on his shoulder. Barbara's good mood dipped. "He _insisted_ that I call her," she said, displeased.

Luke and Reid shared a look.

Reid stepped towards Paul. "Mr Ryan," he greeted, "feeling like a new man?"

"Something like that," he replied warmly, holding out a hand. Reid shook it carefully. "I kind of feel like I'm meeting you for the first time. It's a weird feeling."

Reid had treated many amnesia patients, and he still couldn't imagine how bizarre it must feel to lose all knowledge of who you are in the first place, then suddenly have all that information come flooding back. "I bet it is." Tugging his penlight out of his labcoat pocket, he carefully flicked it on with and leaned in to study Paul's pupils - first one, then the other. Satisfied, he turned the penlight off and reached up to put it back away. "Any pain?"

"I had a mild headache when I woke up, but other than that..." he shrugged, his gaze tracking Reid's movements. "I never did ask what happened to your hands."

"Industrial accident," Reid explained smoothly, "no blackouts, missing time?"

"No," Paul shook his head.

Reid glanced at Barbara, then Emily. "What about you two? Noticed any odd behaviour? Has he been coherent and focused this whole time?"

"He's seemed fine," Emily replied. "In fact, better than fine."

Reid frowned. "What do you mean?"

"How do I say this?" she pretended to think about it. "He's not the jackass he was before the accident?"

Paul objected, glancing up at her. "Hey, you loved that jackass."

"Don't remind me."

Interesting. "So what you're saying is, the character change you noticed after the amnesia..."

"...seems to be sticking," Barbara confirmed. "And I have to say, I couldn't be happier," she said, smiling fondly at her son. " _This_ is the son I remember, the one I raised and whose diapers I changed."

Paul wrinkled his nose. "Thanks, Mom."

Emily gave Reid a significant look as if to say, _See? She really is a scary, obsessed mother._

Barbara just ignored them all. "That...man, he became? The things he did, the way he treated people? He was a stranger."

In that case, it seemed entirely possible... "That microchip really did change his personality, intentional or otherwise." Reid paused. "I can't believe I just said that."

"James wanted him to be a chip off the old block," Barbara surmised, "and when Paul wasn't turning out that way, he had that _thing_ implanted into his head to make it happen."

It was as good a theory as any other. Although the idea that that kind of specific character change was even possible, and that James Stenbeck had somehow a) had access to that technology in the first place and, b) found someone qualified enough to operate on his son, implanting a microchip into his brain without damaging him permanently or just killing him outright, strained all credibility.

He really needed to stop thinking about this crap before it gave him a headache. There was a much simpler way of dealing with this stuff: This was Oakdale. Logic need not apply.

"So, really," Reid asked, casually examining Paul's reaction, "you're not feeling the urge to embark on a life of villainy and crime?"

"Not at all," Paul said, with a small, calm smile. "I think just being with Emily will keep me busy enough," he explained, looking up at her warmly. Smiling emotionally, she met his gaze, squeezing his shoulder. It was all very Hallmark.

Hearing a heavy sigh, Reid turned his head to see Barbara eyeing them with disappointment.

"Look," Reid pointed out simply, "she _has_ to be a better option than Meg."

"Meg gave me a grandchild," Barbara argued, "but I will concede that at least Emily is not as..."

"Psychopathic?" Reid offered. "Twisted? Insane?"

"Hey," Luke interrupted, "that's my aunt you're talking about."

"And I'm extremely glad you're nothing like her," Reid told him, which earned him a glare. He shrugged. It was the truth.

"Oh!" Barbara exclaimed, as if suddenly remembering something. "Paul - I can't believe I nearly forgot! Dr Oliver has some wonderful news!"

They all faced him eagerly, full of expectation. Really? They wanted _him_ to be the bearer of the good news. Oh, well. "Damian's behind the explosion. He confessed to everything. You're no longer under suspicion." Splaying his hands out either side of his body, he waved them in faux excitement. "Ta da."

Smiling broadly, Paul looked extremely happy - the first time Reid had seen him look that way. "Really? That's...good," he grinned. "Really, really good. Wow," Paul continued. "So, uh, with my memories back...I guess you won't be sticking around much longer." He looked almost disappointed. "I mean, that was the deal, right?"

"That's right, Dr Oliver," Barbara told him, "as far as I'm concerned, a deal's a deal. My son's memories are back. I won't force you to stay in Oakdale any longer."

"You were forcing him to stay here?" Emily asked, disbelieving.

The ridiculousness of it was, nothing Reid had done had brought Paul's memories back at all. As was often the case, the brain healed itself whenever it was ready. Barbara's blackmail would've been for nothing - if not one thing. Or rather, one person.

"Yeah, that _was_ the deal," Reid agreed, turning towards Luke who was still red around the eyes but was now smiling at him brightly, "I decided to make a new one."

*

Reid had been hoping to convince Luke to spend the night again, despite the morning-after debacle - they really needed to get a jump on that apartment hunting thing - but when Reid got a phone call inviting them out to the farm for dinner, he said yes immediately. After confirmation that yes, Emma would be cooking and that no, unfortunately, Meg wouldn't be attending, it was Reid who had to convince Luke to go.

"At a time like this," he said wisely, "when you've just been betrayed by your sneaky, duplicitous, biological-"

"You're not helping."

"A man needs to be around his family. His real family," he insisted. "Also: don't you want me to build a good relationship with your parents? Accepting the invitation will be seen as an act of good faith on my part, and-"

"Uh huh," Luke interrupted, clearly not buying it, "you just want to eat Grandma's food."

"Never claimed otherwise," Reid said truthfully.

Two hours later, Reid smiled as they drove onto the farm. Even he was aware that his mood on this visit was wildly different from his mood on his previous visit, but this time he knew there would be a much smaller crowd.

And now he knew what Emma's food tasted like.

By the time they parked and were climbing out of the car, Natalie was rushing out to greet her brother. Ethan wasn't far behind, although much to Reid's surprise, he headed for Reid first.

Ethan stared up at him with wide, wide eyes. Regular kids, those capable of decent conversation, he could deal with. Younger kids, not so much.

"Um, hi," Reid said.

Ethan just kept staring at him. "You're not Noah," he said eventually.

"No," Reid confirmed, "I'm Reid. I plan on sticking around for a while." Not knowing anything else to do, he held out a hand. "Nice to meet ya again."

Still staring, Ethan cautiously studied the hand for a long time. Just as Reid was contemplating pulling it back, Ethan reached out and grabbed what he could of Reid's fingers, shaking them.

Reid decided it was worth it when Luke, who'd been watching the interaction intently the whole time, grinned at him hugely and on the way into the house while the kids were running ahead, gave Reid a huge kiss on the lips. Reid was still frankly a little dazed as he stumbled into the kitchen.

"Dr Oliver!" Emma enthused, wiping her hands on a dishcloth as she came towards him, throwing it into the sink on the way.

"Uh, Reid is fine," he replied automatically, glaring as Luke smirked to himself.

"In that case, Reid," she said cheerily, smiling, "we're so glad you could make it."

"That we are," Holden's voice agreed, making Reid turn to see the man in question slowly making his way out of the family room on crutches.

Luke rushed over to his father's side, but didn't actually try to help him despite the fact that he clearly wanted to - probably on orders from Holden himself. The two of them shared a hug, made awkward by the crutches, and then they shared a few quiet words - probably about Damian. Reid gave them their privacy, waiting until they separated before strolling over. "So, Mr Snyder, how's that ankle?"

"Holden, please," he insisted, grunting as he got himself down into a chair at the table. Luke did a weird, amusing little dance behind him the entire time, watching his every move. "And better, I think. The pain's definitely less."

Reid sat down, and as he told Holden about the latest with Paul, Luke finished setting the table. At one point Reid actually offered to help, but Luke immediately glared at him and simply said, "Fingers."

Reid rolled his eyes, turning back to Holden. "Seriously, he's banned me from doing anything with my fingers that isn't completely necessary. He even frowns at me when I turn the lamp off in the bedroom."

Luke, who'd been in the middle of putting another plate on the table, let go too early and it clunked heavily on the table. "Sorry!" he announced dramatically, face flushed, scurrying off towards the cutlery drawer.

Reid wasn't embarrassed, but it was another one of those moments he'd never experienced before. He and Holden exchanged significant looks.

_You're screwing my son?_

_Yeah, I'm screwing your son._

_Do you love him?_

_That's none of your...okay, yes. Yes, I love him._

_Good. Let's never talk about this again._

_Deal._

After that, the rest of the exprience was a breeze. Lily appeared from somewhere, literally dragging Faith with her, who had her nose glued to her cell phone.

"They never should've got her that thing," Luke muttered, placing a glass next to Reid's plate. By now Natalie was helping and even Ethan was in on the action, carefully carrying over the butter dish Emma had asked him to take to the table. When he reached his goal, Luke plucked it out of his hands, placing it up on the table. "Thanks, buddy. Your help is much appreciated." Ethan smiled up at him.

The smell of Emma's cooking was driving Reid's stomach wild, so Luke temporarily mollified him by sneaking him a couple of Emma's delicious oat cookies. Apparently Emma was big on people not ruining their appetites just before a meal so whenever she wasn't looking, Reid would shove another piece into his mouth, chewing quickly. Luke, who was sitting next to him now, found the whole thing hilarious and kept having to turn his face away to hide his laughter whenever Reid snuck another bite. Natalie caught him in the act, once, and Reid bought her silence by flicking her a piece of cookie with his thumb. Smiling to herself, she quickly ate her treat.

When the cookies were sadly all gone, Luke finally found the strength to face him - and when he did he tutted, wiping down Reid's shirt. "Crumbs everywhere," he rebuked quietly. "You eat like a horse."

"And you know all about horses, so you probably mean that literally," he teased. "I don't know how I ever coped without you," Reid continued, aware that Lily and Holden were no doubt watching their every interaction.

"Oh, you survived just fine," Luke teased in return, hand finally stilling, pressing gently against Reid's chest, lifting his gaze, "but that's all it was. Surviving."

Lifting a hand to cover Luke's, Reid smiled softly. "You might actually be right about that."

Finally, finally, dinner was ready. Reid eyed all the splendour before him with wonder, not knowing where to start first. Unfortunately, however, there was apparently talking to get through before he was allowed to eat anything.

"Before we say grace," Emma announced, standing at the head of the table, "I wanted to say a few words about our Luke."

Surprised, Luke - who'd been fiddling with his napkin - snapped his head towards her.

"This meal tonight, is in Luke's honour," she told the assembled family. "To remind him that after the bad times, there are always the good. That even though Damian let him down, the rest of his family are still here. We may not be perfect," she acknowledged wryly, "but we love him. And he is such a truly wonderful, wonderful young man, that it's been hard for us to let him go. Whatever you need, Luke," she told him emotionally, "time, space, support. We'll be here as much as you need us to. Don't worry about us. Take care of yourself first and foremost, okay, sweetheart?"

Biting his lip, Luke nodded enthusiastically, looking dangerously close to crying again. His hand flew out, grasping Reid's thigh and holding on tightly. "You guys," Luke got out, "I...I don't even know what to say-"

The sound of the door creaking open interrupted, and everyone turned in their chairs to see who was standing in the doorway.

"Noah!" Natalie yelled, leaping out of her chair and running towards him.

Turning back to face the table, Reid sighed.

Perfect.

*

Sending an awkward glance in Luke and Reid's direction, Lily quickly stood up, tossing her napkin onto her plate and forcing an obviously fake smile on her face. "Noah!" she called out, walking around the table towards him. "What a pleasant surprise!" Tracking her movements, Reid watched her walk up to Noah, stopping a few feet away while Natalie received her apparently much-needed hug.

When Natalie finally released Noah, the kid then stood back and placed her hands on her hips. "I haven't seen you for _ages_ ," Natalie complained. Reid was beginning to realise that she was actually a pretty entertaining kid.

"Sorry, Nat," Noah said mock seriously, not doing a particularly good job of hiding his own amusement at her reaction. "Things have been kind of...hectic," he explained, glancing up, frowning at Luke and Reid sitting next to each other. "I promise to do better from now on, okay?"

Clearly unconvinced, Natalie made a 'hmph' noise, then turned and flounced back to her chair.

Reid definitely liked her.

"We all agree with Natalie, honey," Lily told Noah, pulling him in for a quick hug. "Just because you and Luke aren't together anymore doesn't mean we don't still care about you."

Glancing down, Noah nodded in embarrassment. "I...thanks, Mrs Snyder. That means a lot." He cleared his throat, looking back up. "I'm...sorry to intrude; I didn't realise...I didn't think." He shook his head. "I'll come back later."

The rest of group said nothing, glancing towards and seemingly taking their cue from Luke, who until now had stayed completely silent. He suddenly stood up. "Noah," Luke said, making Noah look towards him. "Stay. If you want to," he added quickly, "stay."

Luke was still definitely a better man than Reid.

After a moment's hesitation, Noah glanced back at Lily. When she nodded silently, he shrugged awkwardly. "Okay. Sure."

A new setting was quickly placed at the table and fortunately no one was stupid enough to try and sit Noah and Reid right next to or opposite each other. A new chair appeared from somewhere, and everyone on the other side of the table shifted up as Noah was situated to Emma's left.

"Wow, Emma, this all looks amazing."

"Why thank you, dear," she beamed, a smile that couldn't have been inherited - but certainly seemed like it had been - by her grandson. "Now, please," she encouraged, "let's say grace."

"Careful of your hands," Luke leaned in, warning under his breath.

"You let Ethan shake my hand," Reid replied, gently kicking Luke's foot, earning a quiet snort in return.

"That was different," he hissed, "you were bonding."

"I prefer our style of 'bonding'."

" _Reid._ "

Smiling, Reid lowered his head. In the end he held hands - or rather, wrists - with Luke and Holden, Holden apparently taking Luke's concerns about Reid's hands seriously.

"Dr Oliver," Emma said, making him lift his head in surprise, "as it's your first time at a Snyder family dinner, would you like to do the honours?"

Completely surprised, Reid blinked and glanced at Luke, whose hold on his wrist had tightened and was now grinning at him stupidly. It was so good to see him smiling so broadly after all the crap he'd been through lately, that Reid - ridiculously - wanted to do a good job of this. Unfortunately, he also didn't want to make a mockery of it. "Um. I don't know if that's appropriate, to be honest," he confessed, turning his attention back to Emma, "I'm not religious. At all." He'd never said grace in his life.

"Giving thanks doesn't have to be a religious experience," she told him, not in the least bit concerned by his answer. "I'm sure you'll do just fine."

When Luke squeezed his wrist again, Reid turned his head to see Luke raising his eyebrows deliberately, nodding encouragingly.

"Okay, okay," Reid muttered. Satisfied - and also looking a little smug - Luke then closed his eyes, lowering his head again. As Reid did the same, he wondered what the hell he was going to say.

Why did this feel like some kind of test?

Clearing this throat, he decided to just go with whatever came to mind. "Emma, thank you for the food you've...bestowed upon us. It, uh, it smells _really_ good." The rest of the group responded with quiet laughter. Emboldened, Reid continued. "Thanks for having me in your home. At your table. And, um, thanks most of all to Luke, I guess, who's the reason I'm here in the first place." Lifting his head, he opened his eyes, glancing around at his audience. "That's it."

As they all raised their heads, looked at him and - for the most part, Noah being a notable exception - smiled at him, it was Luke who garnered most of his attention, leaning in for a brief kiss. "You did good," he congratulated with a huge smile, like a proud parent.

Rolling his eyes, Reid nudged him with his shoulder. "Yeah, I actually managed to say thank you to someone. Truly, this is an epic event."

"Definitely a notable experience," Luke confirmed, nodding solemnly.

Just as Reid broke out into a quiet smile, Emma told everyone to dig in. Bowls and plates were passed from person to person, Reid eagerly filling his plate as conversation started back up.

"So, Noah," Emma began, "how was your trip to LA? Was it as glamorous as it seems in the movies?"

In the process of spooning chopped carrots onto his plate, Noah laughed awkwardly. "Kind of? I guess there's two sides to everything, right? I mean, I did actually get to meet Jude Law."

"Was he as hot as he seems in real life?" Luke asked eagerly, clearly making in-roads to maintaining some kind of relationship with Noah.

"Hotter," Noah grinned, "and though I don't really think the meeting is going to end up going anywhere, it was really good experience. A taste of what it'll be like out there."

Slicing into his meat, Holden nodded. "So you're still planning on moving out there at some point?"

"I don't know," he said honestly, gaze flicking briefly to Luke, who suddenly found his own carrots incredibly interesting - something that wasn't missed by Reid, or likely anyone else at the table, "it wasn't quite what I expected. I need to think about it."

"Is it that second side you were talking about?" Lily asked.

"I guess so," Noah nodded. "I mean, in the end we really didn't spend much time in LA at all - most of our time was spent travelling - but we crammed so much in while we were there. Mason insisted we didn't waste any time," he smiled. "It was exhausting. But that could have something to do with the fact that I haven't slept at all since I first boarded the flight out of Oakdale." He paused, chewing contemplatively. "I don't know what to think. Some of the people were really nice - like Jude. He was really open, really approachable."

Amused, Reid elbowed Luke to get his attention, mouthing the word _Jude?_ Rolling his eyes, Luke silently elbowed him back. _Be nice._

"But most of them..." Noah reached for his glass. "It seemed kind of true what they say about LA. Most of the people seemed really fake, or like...any conversation they had with anyone else they were using as opportunity to do something, or get somewhere. Instead of just talking to someone to get to know them, you know? That part was kind of disappointing." He glanced down at his glass. "It gave me a lot to think about. Even as a kid, I loved the classics but always had a dream of having this huge Hollywood blockbuster, but now I'm thinking...independent might be the way to go. More satisfying," he admitted, finally taking a sip of his water.

As the rest of them made concerned or encouraging noises, Reid just frowned at him. He wasn't sure what to do with this Noah, who was probably the guy Luke had fallen in love with in the first place. He seemed kind of...nice. Boring, but nice. Thoughtful, even. At least when it came to his potential career. When he wasn't being a judgemental ass, Noah Mayer appeared to be a pretty likeable guy.

Reid preferred it when Noah was just a judgemental ass.

Conversation picked up again, with no specific person as the focus. There were comments about work that needed doing on the farm, people's days in general. Natalie plainly had a crush on some boy she went to school with, as she brought him up at every opportunity and blushed ferociously whenever she did. For the most part Reid kept to himself, silently taking in the interactions as he happily ate his food, communicating only with Luke.

As he had expected, however, eventually the conversation turned to him. 

"So, Reid," Emma asked him, "what have you been up to lately?"

The answer seemed pretty obvious to him - screwing her grandson senseless. Rather that voice that particular thought, however, he struggled for something else to say. He'd already told them about Paul, they knew about Bad Dad's hijinks...there was only one thing he could think of that would actually produce conversation. "I'm looking for my own apartment."

Noah froze.

"So you are planning on staying around long term, then?" Lily asked, a smile forming on her face.

"Well, I do have a job here," Reid reminded, "and, you know," he turned to smirk at Luke, "other stuff that makes Oakdale, crazy at it is, far more attractive."

Grinning at him, Luke snuggled in close. "Seriously: romantic. Fool."

"Lies, all lies," Reid retorted. "Are you sure you haven't suffered another bizarre head injury lately?"

"Your own place?" Faith asked, the first thing Reid remembered her saying since they'd first sat down. "Good," she smirked, sitting there with her phone in one hand and a fork in the other, "then you won't have to sleep over at the farm again."

Reid narrowed his eyes at her, suspecting trouble in the making.

Noah still hadn't moved much. "He stayed over at the farm?"

"Sure," Faith shrugged, "with Luke. In the same room. In the same _bed_."

Yep. He'd been right.

"Faith..." Lily warned. "What are you doing?"

"Just telling the truth, Mom," she said sarcastically. "You're always going on about how important that is, right?" She smiled too-sweetly, deliberately.

"I, uh..." Noah said, still looking anywhere but up. "I have to go," he suddenly announced, pushing back his chair. "Thank you for the food," he said, before quickly jogging out of the house.

Pushing his own chair back, Luke glared at Faith. "I can't believe you did that."

Reid just studied her, impressed, as she shrugged casually. She was clearly at a point in her life now where she enjoyed creating trouble just for the sake of it. Reid decided he liked her, too.

Realising that Luke had taken off after Noah, Reid sighed, eyeing his plate regretfully, and followed Luke himself. "Save me some ham," he told the group, as he strolled out of the kitchen and into the porch, where he immediately heard Noah's raised voice from outside.

"-and she actually let you break the house rules, after all the time I lived there! I can't believe this! He has everything I want!"

"What are you talking about?" Luke asked, his back towards the house as Reid stepped out of the porch.

"He has _you!_ " Seeing Reid, he made an unpleasant face, gesturing towards him. "Oh, and of course, he comes out to watch. Come to gloat, Dr Oliver?" And _this_ was the side of Noah Mayer that Reid was used to.

He shrugged. "Don't need to," Reid said honestly, which only seemed to make Noah more upset.

"Sure, of course you don't," Noah retorted, "like you didn't do that at the table deliberately."

Reid frowned. From the sound of his voice, so did Luke. "What are you _talking_ about?" he asked again.

"All the..." he gestured towards them again, " _cuddling_ and cute elbowing. Kissing. Flirting. Deliberately rubbing it in my face."

Shaking his head, Luke took a step towards him. "Noah, that wasn't about you. I wasn't even _thinking_ about you. I was just _happy._ And for your information," he continued, "Reid doesn't 'have' me - it's not like he owns me. We have each other. You and I had each other, too," he pointed out, "but we've been over that, numerous times. You know what happened."

"You dumped me," was Noah's explanation.

"Because you weren't respecting me," Luke agreed, "but I don't want to get dragged into that conversation again. You're still welcome here, Noah," Luke encouraged, "I'd love to still have some kind of relationship with you, even as friends. But I won't hide who I am," he insisted. "I won't deliberately make out with Reid right in front of you, but I'm not going to hide any sign of affection at all."

Making a frustrated sound, Noah turned away and stood there melodramatically.

Reid rolled his eyes.

"It's okay if you can't, if you're not ready," Luke told Noah's back. "I know it sucks. I know what it's like to see the person you...care about, with someone else. Holding hands, even living with them. And that's not a dig at you, Noah, it's really not, I just-"

"I get it, Luke," Noah interrupted, "I get it." He sighed. "It's just...hard to get used to. I'm just...so used to you being there, no matter what. Even when I was maybe...not so nice." Gee, that was generous. "It's hard to accept that, apparently, it's all my fault that you broke up with me."

Reid had had enough. "Oh, come on, now," he said, strolling up to Luke, making Noah turn back again, "that's hardly fair. Luke has to be...oh, at least five per cent at fault, right?"

Luke glared at him. So did Noah.

"Cry me a river," Reid nodded at Noah, "actually - don't. Knowing Oakdale, you'd probably be literally capable of crying an actual river. Let's break it down," he continued, "you were a dick. For quite some time, apparently, and now that Luke's kicked your ass to the curb you're having to face some ugly truths about yourself. Newsflash, kid: that's what growing up is all about. We're all inherently selfish; you're just learning that later than most. Think about it. Grieve about the end of the relationship. Move on. And for some, unfathomable reason, Luke actually wants to stay friends with you, so-"

"Reid," Luke cut in, staring at him intently, "I got this." Reid promptly stopped talking, although he was a little ticked that he didn't get to finish his personal life lesson. "Noah," Luke said, facing him again, "whenever you're ready, you're welcome to be a part of my life - it wasn't all bad, and I'd like to keep the good memories. But if you can't respect me or my relationship, you won't be welcome to be a part of my life. Okay?"

Contemplating his words, Noah spoke slowly. "So basically...if I haven't got anything nice to say, I shouldn't say anything at all?"

Reid thought that summed it up perfectly.

"That sounds about right," Luke confirmed.

Quiet for a while, Noah stared at Reid for quite some time. "I know his type, Luke. I just don't want you to get hurt."

"Noah..."

"He'll never tell you that he loves you." Well, he was definitely wrong about that one - although really, he almost couldn't blame Noah for thinking that.

"Noah," Luke said sadly, "he already has."

Noah definitely looked surprised by that admission. "Well..." he fumbled around for a response, "...then he just told you that to get you to sleep with him."

Oh, for crying out loud. Reid couldn't help himself. "You've got an excuse for everything, haven't you?"

Luke sighed heavily, disappointed. "You need to go, Noah. Take some time to yourself, because I think you need it."

Noah made another unpleasant face. "Luke..."

" _Go._ "

*

Side by side, they watched Noah stalk off, climb inside his truck and start the engine. His driving was unsurprisingly aggressive, throwing gravel high up in the air as he quickly turned the truck, speeding off.

Reid studied Luke, watching Noah's tail lights disappear, arms folded across his body, shoulders tense. Moving closer, Reid hooked an arm around Luke's shoulders. Immediately leaning against him, Luke relaxed his body, letting his arms fall to his sides.

"That's it," Luke said suddenly, sadly.

"What is?" Reid queried, tugging him closer. Luke went easily, turning until they were facing each other, almost hugging.

"I hope he finds whatever it is he needs," Luke began genuinely, "but until he starts treating me like I can think for myself..." He trailed off, making a dissatisfied expression, slowly shaking his head.

Reid nodded his understanding. "You mean he's actually reached the limits of your fabled Snyder patience?"

Chuckling, Luke gave him a playful shove. "You're lucky I am so patient. Any anyway," he added, "I guess technically you're right - as always," he teased.

"I _am_ always right."

"Just like I said," Luke mocked. Pausing, he leaned in further, turning his face into Reid's neck. "I can't believe what I used to put up with. What I used to blame myself for."

Bringing a hand up to Luke's back, Reid closed his eyes. "In my opinion? Intentional or otherwise, he took advantage of your need to make everyone happy - a condition no doubt exacerbated by your parents' constant break-ups."

Pulling away, making Reid open his eyes again, Luke frowned at him. "What do you mean?"

Reid couldn't believe he didn't see it - but then he hadn't recognised Noah's crappy behaviour for what it was, either. "You were the older child. And, knowing you, you took on the responsibility of trying to give the rest of the brood some kind of stability, right? You did your parents' job for them." Reid only had to look at the way Luke interacted with Faith to be sure of that.

Shoulders stiffening, immediately defensive, Luke pulled away even further. "Mom and Dad may not be perfect-"

"Of course they're not. Nobody is - not even me," he admitted, trying to keep Luke calm enough to at least acknowledge his point. "Your parents screwed you up. My parents screwed me up. Hell, from what you told me about him, Noah's dad totally screwed him up."

Luke still didn't look pleased. "Reid-"

"I'm not attacking them. At least, not at the moment," he conceded, "it is what it is. It happens all the time. And it's not like our parents are responsible for all our crappy behaviour - we make our own stupid decisions and it can have nothing to do with our parents at all." He paused, waiting to see what the response would be.

Luke folded his arms across his chest again, not a favourable response. "Are you a trained psychologist, too, Dr Oliver? I thought you weren't a fan of 'pop psychology'?"

"Not that ridiculous, mumbo-jumbo crap," Reid agreed. "Look, I told you before I had some concerns about your family - or more importantly, the way they treat you. You may not like hearing it, you may disagree with it, but I'd rather you be pissed at me and aware of my concerns, rather than not being aware of them at all."

"Why?" Luke asked, frowning.

"Because you deserve better," Reid said.

"He's right, honey," Lily's voice said, and they both turned, startled, to see her standing on the other side of the screen door that led into the porch. As they watched she pushed the door open, stepping outside. From the state of her eyes, she'd been crying. She must've been doing so elegantly or something, though, because watery eyes aside, she still looked perfect.

"Mom," Luke said, surprised, taking an automatic step towards her. "How long have you been there?"

"A while," she admitted as the door snapped shut behind her. She glanced off towards the road. "I never knew," she said quietly, "I didn't know that Noah could be..."

"Such a jackass?" Reid volunteered.

"Reid..."

He looked at Luke. "What? You just got through telling me pretty much the same thing."

Lily ignored the brief tangent. "I guess I never really saw the two of you argue in front of me, before," she admitted, crossing her arms, hands grasping tightly onto her upper arms as she turned back towards them. "Not about anything important. I wish I'd known...realised."

"I didn't realise either, Mom," Luke told her softly, "and I was the one living it." Sighing, he obviously reconsidered his answer. "I guess that's not a hundred per cent true. It didn't really feel _right_ that he was angry at me so often, but I'd just tell myself that it was my fault, that I was doing something wrong, and if I could just fix whatever it was I'd done then he would be so-" his voice stopped, breaking with emotion. Reid felt a pang in his chest but had barely moved an inch when Lily was flying towards her son.

"Oh, _sweetheart_ ," she sobbed, hugging him tightly. Reid winced. Luke clung on to his mother just as tightly. "I'm so sorry," she told him emotionally, "so, so sorry for any part your father and I may have had in making you think that that was _normal_ , acceptable to put up with that kind of behaviour - or, even worse, to make you think it was something you deserved!" Sniffing, she pulled back, grasping his upper arms. "You're a brilliant, intelligent, courageous young man and you deserve nothing less than absolute happiness for the rest of your life."

Teary-eyed himself, Luke tipped his head to one side wryly. "Life doesn't work that way."

"No," she agreed, reaching out to wipe a tear from his face, "it doesn't. But you certainly deserve however much happiness _is_ possible when life keeps throwing you curveballs." Smiling reassuringly, she sniffed again. "That was the whole point of this meal, you know."

Reid was intrigued. Apparently, so was Luke. "What was?"

"When I thought you were... _gone_ ," her voice lowered as she looked away, before focusing back on Luke's face, "I thought about you and your father so much and it made me realise...there's so much you do for me. I kept thinking...how am I going to cope without Luke around to support me? When it should be the other way around."

"Families support each other all the time," he argued, "regardless of age-"

"Yes, they do," she admitted, "but Luke. You know it was too much. You _know._ Especially now," Lily admitted, glancing deliberately at Reid. Luke nodded awkwardly, reluctantly. "That's why Emma said what she did at dinner. After the truth came out about Damian, I sat down with her and your father and between us we decided - from now on, you're going to live your life." She stood straighter. "We will always love you. We will always need you. But we're done taking advantage of you."

Producing a fresh wave of tears, Luke pulled out of his mother's grasp and launched himself at Reid. Surprised, Reid caught him, bracing himself against the sudden weight. Red-eyed, Lily stared at them, shocked. Reid nodded towards the house. Hesitating for a moment, she disappeared through the door, then into the kitchen.

And Reid was left standing there, in the middle of a farm, with Luke Snyder sobbing his eyes out against his chest.

"Hey," Reid told him firmly, feeling suspiciously _emotional_ himself at the sounds coming out of Luke's mouth, the amount of tears soaking through his shirt, "this is a good thing."

"I don't even...know why I'm...crying," Luke got out between sobs.

Reid shrugged. "It's been a shitty week. You're entitled to a few tears. Although you're producing so many lately, I might have to bottle them up and sell them on. _Eau de Stupid Hair_."

A disgusting, snotty, tear-soaked laugh flew out of Luke's mouth and Reid didn't even think of pulling away. It really must've been love.

After a while, when Luke must've cried out at least half the liquid contained in his body (okay, slight exaggeration - more like a third), he sniffed loudly and released Reid, looking up at him with his red, wet, snotty face. "Sure you're still up for this?" he asked, the old doubt resurfacing.

"Once you clear the mucus off your face," Reid told him honestly, "I'll be up for anything."

*

Sadly, Reid didn't quite get to live up to the double entendre.

They'd gone back into the house, where everyone had very conspicuously not-stared at Luke, but then dessert was served and Reid got distracted.

Despite the debacle that'd happened with Brad, there was no question of Luke not spending the night after the evening they'd had, and after leaving the farm they drove straight to the apartment, giving Brad and Katie a brief wave before heading for the bathroom together. Inside, they stripped off and squeezed under the shower head - when Luke shyly admitted he'd never had any kind of sexual experience in a shower.

Reid's brain might have short-circuited for a few seconds, but as soon as it went back on-line he was determined to rectify the situation. Due to the tight space they couldn't manage anything too complicated, but kissing open-mouthed beneath the warm water, Luke's hand jerking them both off, coming all over themselves and each other, was more than satisfying.

In Reid's room they lay under the covers with damp hair, smiling at each other. Reid knew how cheesy it was but after watching the breakdown earlier, anything was worth seeing Luke smile that way.

And that thought was pretty damn cheesy, too.

"Better?" Reid asked, slipping an arm beneath Luke's neck.

"Yeah," Luke said quietly, tenderly. "From here, things can only go up."

"Don't say that," Reid immediately warned, "have you never heard of dramatic irony? You live in _Oakdale_. You'll immediately curse yourself with bad luck."

Chuckling, Luke shook his head. Reid had heard the phrase 'he had stars in his eyes' plenty of times. From the way Luke was looking at him, this was the first time he'd ever seen a visual approximation. "It has to get better," Luke informed him, "you're in my life now."

Reid rolled his eyes so hard he could've strained something. He did, however, manage to keep his mouth clamped shut.

Luke grinned. Reid squinted.

"You're totally saying that crap on purpose."

"You should see your face when I do it," Luke responded, amused, which was pretty much all the confession Reid needed. "Not that it's not all true," he added, "I just may be...choosing to say it in a slightly more..."

"Bad romance novel way?"

"That works," he shrugged. Smiling, he brought a hand up into Reid's hair, coursing through the damp strands. "Kiss me," he ordered and, well, Reid wasn't about to disobey an order like that.

Humming happily into the kiss, Luke's hand tangled further into Reid's hair as Reid moved on top of him, settling between Luke's legs. As usual, it didn't take long until they were both hard, slowly rubbing against each other. Reid was just thinking that a long, slow fuck would be perfect for his mood when Luke broke the latest kiss and said,

"Um, you should know something." He didn't look _scared_ exactly. More like...slightly concerned.

Reid frowned down at him. "What is it?"

"I can't, um," Luke began awkwardly, pausing. Then he spat it out. "I'm too sore."

Smiling, Reid nodded once in acknowledgement. "Understandable."

"It's your fault for being such a sex fiend," Luke joked, clearly feeling more comfortable at Reid's easy reaction, "my ass just isn't used to it!"

"Surely that's Noah's fault," Reid pointed out, enjoying the eye roll he got in response. "And don't worry about it. We've had to be creative about not being able to use my fingers. We can get creative about this, too. Plus, I know an excellent way of making your ass feel a million times better."

And so Reid couldn't actually fuck Luke, but rimming Luke was truly one of the most entertaining experiences of his life. Though he'd always been vocal in bed, a Luke who was being rimmed took the noise level to new heights and he was so horny, so turned on that he forgot all about anyone else who was in the apartment and just let himself go.

It was incredibly hot.

Apparently, Luke had only been rimmed once, previously - and in his own words, not very well. Reid was frustrated at not being able to actually put his fingers inside Luke, but he made do with his tongue and his mouth, and though Luke had to jerk himself off he voiced no complaints, coming hard before collapsing onto the bed.

After witnessing that spectacle it wasn't going to take Reid much to join him, and he was all set to rub himself off against Luke when Luke was suddenly moving again, flipping himself over. Grabbing Reid's hips, Luke guided him closer and when his intent became clear, Reid had to close his eyes.

He opened them again immediately when Luke's lips first touched his cock, had to watch, hands braced against the headboard, as his cock disappeared inside Luke's beautiful mouth. Groaning, somehow Reid held himself still, letting Luke guide the motions.

In the end, Luke barely had to do anything at all. He looked up at Reid with those big eyes, his mouth wrapped wide around Reid's cock, and swallowed. Cursing, Reid came, fingers digging into the edge of the headboard, jerking as he flooded Luke's mouth with come. Coughing, spluttering, Luke pushed Reid's body away as he tried to take it all in. Flopping down next to him, Reid shook his head, trying to clear it. When he realised Luke's mouth and chin were still covered with his come, he decided it was only fair to help clear it up.

Starting at Luke's neck, he licked his way up through the come until he reached Luke's mouth, indulging in a deep kiss. It continued that way for the next few minutes, long after Luke was clean, until they ended up lying there, practically nuzzling each other.

"Sorry," Reid said, tired, closing his eyes as he leant into Luke, "should've given you more warning."

"Not your fault," Luke insisted, stretching out to turn off the lamp then settling back in, sounding just as mellow, "you can't help that I'm so hot."

Smiling to himself, Reid blindly reached for the edge of the covers, pulling them up. "Get some sleep."

Pressing closer, Luke yawned. "New day tomorrow."

Thinking of Luke's words earlier, Reid nodded, face pressing into Luke's hair. "Better from here," he said, but he really wasn't sure which one of them he was talking about.

*

The next day, after another close encounter of the Brad kind, Reid started looking for an apartment.

Well, Reid looked when he was able; it was Luke who threw himself into the task wholeheartedly, scouring newspapers, scrolling through websites, calling realtors. It seemed not only was Luke determined to find Reid the best apartment, he was willing to interrogate realtors to get him the best price, too.

Amused, Reid just gave Luke a few specifications and left him to it.

As for Reid, he worked. More often than not, in the evenings he came home to Luke holding the latest list of possibilities and between them they'd debate the various merits. Luke didn't restrict himself, either, adding houses that he thought would be particularly notable to Reid or were a particularly good offer. Those evenings with Luke were often frustrating but engrossing, disagreements over one aspect or another usually ending up resolving themselves - or at least, shelved until later - in Reid's bedroom.

After the first few days, Brad at least had enough brains to stop making comments - that, or Katie had slapped his back so many times in rebuke that she'd unwittingly severed his brain from his spinal cord. As a result their mornings were now a much more civilised affair. Once Luke overcame his initial embarrassment, he slotted into Reid's morning routine surprisingly easily. Four people all trying to use the bathroom in the morning didn't turn out well, so Reid and Luke compromised and shared, one of them using the shower while the other shaved and brushed their teeth - then vice versa.

Luke confessed that despite being brought up with Emma's cooking, he wasn't much of a breakfast person most of the time, usually just grabbing a piece of fruit or toast; just enough to keep him going.

That didn't last long.

Reid took it upon himself to educate Luke in the ways of breakfast foods. Luke played along at first, clearly just humouring him, but after the first few mornings he seemed to be genuinely looking forward to it. Luke wasn't the only one and soon Reid was anticipating both his mornings and his evenings, and if something happened to disturb the comfortable pattern they'd fallen into Reid was aware enough of himself to know that he became even crabbier than usual.

Luke told him it was funny. Katie told him it was adorable. Brad told him he'd think he needed to get laid more, but he knew for a fact that wasn't true.

In his personal life, he'd never been happier. It was one of those phrases people threw around all the time about the simplest of events, its overuse rendering it almost insignificant - it had lost all genuine meaning. Like a word you repeated too often in your head, the real definition had been lost.

Reid knew exactly what it meant. He didn't just think it; he _felt_ it.

It wasn't much of a surprise, really, since he'd never really had a personal life before Luke - but it was true just the same. And if his work was becoming just a little bit tedious, a little bit frustrating, Reid didn't mind too much. The benefits of his present situation far out-weighed any negative aspects - and he lived in Oakdale, so that meant the threat of guerrilla warfare breaking out at any moment was a distinct possibility.

One particular Friday morning, Reid and Luke were sitting on the stools around the kitchen counter, Brad and Katie still in their bedroom. Reid preferred not to think about what they might be doing in there, and was gratefully distracted when he saw Luke staring at the bowl in front of him.

Reid took in the frown of confusion. "What is it?"

"It's melon," Luke told him, a piece of information Reid was already well aware of, "more to the point, it's fruit."

"My eyes _are_ working perfectly," Reid pointed out, "20-20 vision and everything."

Luke looked from the plate to Reid. "I don't think I've ever seen you touch a piece of fruit, let alone eat one."

Reid shook his head. "What, you thought I existed on nothing but junk food?"

"Well..." Luke shrugged, "the thought had crossed my mind."

"I do have a fast metabolism which means I can get away with more than most," he admitted, "but if I ate nothing but fatty foods I would've had a heart attack already. And how would I maintain my girlish figure?"

Chuckling, Luke leant forward, resting his elbows in the counter, clasping his hands together. "An excellent point," Luke conceded, "although the cardio workouts you've been getting lately are probably helping with that," he smirked. "They're certainly helping me work off the sugar and fat-soaked breakfasts you've been giving me every morning. Not that I'm not enjoying them."

"Excuse me?" Reid asked, gesturing towards the melon as proof of what an utter lie that statement was. "Every type of breakfast's worth trying once, healthy or unhealthy. That's exactly what we're doing. Dig in," he instructed, picking up his own spoon. While Luke had still been getting dressed - he had his own drawer now, a significant turn of events in Reid's life which he'd dealt with by reading a journal in bed and pointing, declaring "That one's yours," when Luke walked into the room - Reid had prepared breakfast.

With that stupid hair, it always took Luke far longer than it should have, so Reid had spent the time carefully cutting a large slice from each of the melons, then chopping the slices into small cubes. Adding the remaining ingredients, he'd stored it in the refrigerator until Luke finally deigned to grace him with his presence. Reid was by no means an expert but he was a half-decent cook - when he had the time, which he had plenty of lately. More importantly, he knew what he liked.

Taking his first mouthful, Luke chewed thoughtfully, tipping his head to one side. "Is that...honey?" He asked. "And something else...mint?"

Reid nodded. "It's more a dessert than a breakfast," he admitted.

"Ha," Luke mocked, "so much for Mr Healthy."

"Yes, because a tablespoon of honey is going to give you diabetes."

Leaning in, Luke nudged him gently, teasing. "It is good, though."

"Of course it is," Reid replied, bringing his spoon up to his mouth, "I don't eat bad food unless it's forced on me without warning. And even then I'd probably just refuse."

They finished the rest of their meal in relative silence, and by the end of it Luke had his chin resting on his palm, elbow on the table, gazing at Reid.

It was somewhat disconcerting. "What?" Reid asked, scraping his bowl with the spoon for the last of the honey.

"It's just..." Luke shrugged happily, "...I'm still learning new things about you, every day. Until a few days ago, I had no idea you could even cook."

"I'm hardly a sous chef," Reid pointed out, "this involved no actual cooking at all. And I don't usually have the time. In any case, it's just basic stuff. Most people can cook to some degree."

"I know how to use a microwave," Luke told him, "and follow instructions on a packet. That's about it."

Reid had never considered Luke's potential cooking skills before, but now that he had he found the information vaguely surprising. "I would've thought Emma would've drilled at least the basic 'cooking from scratch' skills into her offspring and _their_ subsequent offspring."

"There just never seemed time for it, I guess," Luke explained. "Something's always going on."

That was definitely true. Although...not so much lately.

"I like knowing this about you, though," Luke continued, grinning, "seriously, who else at the hospital knows that you can cook?"

"No one," Reid replied because really, when would that subject have ever come up at work? And even if it had, why would he ever tell anyone?

"Exactly," Luke replied, still grinning, "I like being the only one to know this stuff."

Rolling his eyes, Reid sucked the last of the honey from his spoon. Luke's gaze followed the action and after Reid pulled the clean spoon from his mouth, smirking, it took Luke about two seconds to attack his lips.

Unfortunately, there wasn't time for anything else as Reid had to get to work - something they were sadly both aware of. When Luke pulled back, however, he was smiling.

"You know what we should do?"

Reid shrugged, still tasting Luke, honey and mint on his tongue. "What?"

"Go on a date!" Luke enthused. "I mean, actually go somewhere together deliberately, just the two of us. We ran into each other a few times, before, but that didn't count because I was still with Noah. And that last time we met at _Al's_ ended up at the _Lakeview_. Not that it wasn't extremely enjoyable," he grinned, "I just..." he glanced away, becoming awkward. "I think it'd be nice, that's all, to sit somewhere where everyone can see."

"Wanna show me off?" Reid teased.

"Oh, I thought you'd wanna show _me_ off," Luke retorted with a grin.

Reid smiled, but something about the way Luke had brought the subject up made him thoughtful. "How long has it been?"

Pausing, Luke glanced away again briefly. "Since my last date? A while? I don't know, to be honest. I mean, once you've been together for a while you don't really do dates anymore, right?" Reid did think that was generally true, but Luke sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than anything else. "What about you?"

"Me?" Reid asked, surprised. Thinking about it, he shrugged. "Never, I guess. I mean, not a real date," he explained further at Luke's shocked look. "The few I had were just...preludes to sex."

"Just so we're clear," Luke told him flirtatiously, "if we go on a date, it'll definitely be a prelude to sex."

Chuckling, Reid shook his head. "I was already sold - you don't have to throw sex on the table. Not that I mind," he added quickly.

"How about you have sex with me on a table instead?" Luke asked, cheeks flushing.

Liking this development, Reid leaned in close. "The sooner I find an apartment I like, the sooner that'll happen."

Unsurprisingly, Luke spent another day narrowing down the likely prospects.

*

Reid's good mood hadn't lasted. Upon getting home from work that evening, he let himself into Katie's apartment, closing the door morosely behind him and throwing himself down on the sofa.

Katie watched the whole thing from the kitchen. "That was melodramatic."

Reid didn't particularly want to talk about it. "Tired," was all the explanation he gave.

"Luke's not with you," Katie pointed out, "is that why you're moping?"

What was it with people thinking he was moping all the time? "As a matter of fact, I'm meeting him at _Metro_ in a couple of hours. For a date."

"A date?" Katie grinned, crossing the room and joining him on the sofa. "Have you ever been on a date?"

"Not exactly," he shrugged, "but I get the general idea. Bring flowers," he joked. "Don't tell her she looks fat. Tell her she has _fabulous_ shoes."

"Yeah, you might wanna re-think your strategy," Katie grinned, playing along. "I'm sure you'll both have a great time. So," she continued, "what's with the grouchy face?"

Reid looked at her askance. "Did you actually just call it grouchy face? I'm not a child."

"Have to get the practice in sometime," she explained good-naturedly, resting a hand against her stomach.

Reid sighed. "In any case, nothing's wrong. Like I said - just tired."

"Not buying it," she replied. "Thinking over your mood in general, your mood when Luke's around and your mood when you get home from work, the problem is clearly something to do with the hospital. Tell me what's wrong, because you know I won't leave you alone until you do."

God, he was going to be so glad when he got his own damn apartment. Not having the energy anymore, he gave in. "It's _boring_."

"The Head of Neurology job?" she asked, surprised.

"Look, it's an important job," he told her, "I know that. It comes with some prestige. But I've been through this all already, a position in a hospital, moving on from that, starting my own Centre. It just feels like I'm going backwards. It's probably nothing," he sighed. "Regular people get dissatisfied with their jobs all the time, right? It doesn't always last. And it can't be helping that I can't operate at the moment," he said, looking down at the hands in question. They were definitely improving, but it'd probably be a fortnight until he was cleared for the OR again.

A fortnight. Two weeks. Two weeks of slowly tapping away at a computer, only being able to add a digital signature to documents instead of quickly scrawling his name, being assisted by Nurse Stewart every damn day, assisting in surgeries only through a television screen. Those annoying little things he'd been trying to ignore were turning into one big thing that was becoming impossible to ignore.

"Have you told Luke?"

"Don't see the need," he told her. "When I'm with him..." He paused, glancing at her warily.

Katie was already smiling. "Spill!"

She was intolerable. "You never mention this to another living soul."

"I swear," she promised, making a cross in the air with a finger above her chest.

Reid said it. "I've never been this happy before."

Grinning hugely, she bounced up and down slightly on the sofa. "I knew it!"

"Yeah, whatever," he retorted, "but the point is - when I'm with him, I forget all about work. It's a small price to pay."

"Oh, Reid," she told him gently, "you're such an idiot."

He shifted, raising his eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"It's _wonderful_ that you're so happy with Luke, and it's really sweet that you just want to keep him happy-"

"He's been through a lot of crap lately," he shrugged. And really, _sweet?_

"I know," she replied fondly. "But it's just as important that you're happy with your job, too. Think how happy it _used_ to make you - it was all you could talk about. You may be a little blinded by love right now," Katie smiled, "but you're a smart guy - as you're so fond of reminding me. You know the affect a job can have on your personality, your self-confidence. You're moving out soon, right? Thanks for telling me, by the way," she added, "I had to find out when Luke showed me a couple of 'amazing apartments' on his laptop."

Reid was annoyed at the good points she was making, so ignored her last comment. "Hopefully. We've got it narrowed down to a couple of places we're going to check out tomorrow-"

"You have to tell him," Katie interrupted. "You're still in that honeymoon stage - he's practically living here as it is. No doubt, when you do get the apartment, he'll practically live there, too."

Reid couldn't deny it. "But-"

"Reid," Katie said seriously, intently, staring into his eyes, "before that happens, before you take that step...you need to tell him."

*

Reid loathed being late - he prided himself on being anywhere he'd agreed to be on time, the result of a particularly frustrating 'friend' in college who always, without fail, arrived everywhere at least thirty minutes late. It had driven Reid mad, having to deal with someone so thoughtlessly inconsiderate, and he'd vowed - in that area at least - that he'd never be that irritating.

So, at 7:30 on the dot, Reid stepped foot inside _Metro_ for the first time. He planned to scan around the interior, study this new part of Oakdale and see if it was as bizarre as the rest of the town.

When he saw Luke, any intention he'd had vanished into thin air.

The bar was just to the right of the entrance and Luke was standing at it. He was dressed in a dark suit that looked even more expensive than the few Reid had seen him in already. A crisp white shirt sat smoothly beneath the suit jacket, the top buttons open, splayed wide, shamelessly flaunting the top of Luke's chest and - more importantly - his chest hair, just the way Reid liked it.

Leaning against the bar, subconsciously moving his hips in time to the music being quietly piped into the background - Reid was fine with this whole date thing, but he really hoped there wouldn't be dancing - Luke avidly watched the bartender serve drinks, smoothly moving from one place to another behind the bar, never spilling a drop.

Reid had certainly been struck by lust when seeing Luke before, but this time it was a hugely sentimental wave of _fondness_. This ridiculous, stupid-haired, optimistic, confidence-confused man, avidly watching someone perform their craft as he bopped along to music, had somehow become the person Reid was always the happiest to see.

Luke turned then and as he caught sight of Reid, his already pleased expression transformed into something even happier. His smile broadened significantly, eyelids drooping for a moment flirtatiously, and then he stepped away from the bar, slipping his hands into the pockets of his pants easily.

Luke walked slowly towards him with slightly more bounce in his step than usual - but Reid was already moving himself, unplanned but following his instincts as he grabbed Luke's face with his hands, quickly leaning in to kiss him.

Immediately kissing him back, Luke's hands went to Reid's shoulder and hair respectively, the kiss becoming a little filthier than what was usually considered appropriate in public.

After one last slick slide of his tongue, Reid broke the kiss to see Luke still smiling greatly, still close. Reid felt his own smile beginning to match Luke's.

"Hi," Luke greeted happily, "I got a table."

"Hi," Reid responded, "where is it?"

Grabbing Reid's wrist, Luke tugged him along, walking proudly through the few people who were standing, then guiding Reid through the smattering of tables. Reid smirked, amused at feeling like he was the trophy wife out of the two - but in the traditional sense, he kind of was. Luke was the one with the millions. Reid just happened to have a job, too.

"What are you smiling at?" Luke asked, squinting at him as he sat down at a small table.

"Is being in your presence not reason enough, sweetheart?" Reid asked dramatically.

Luke laughed, pressing his shoulder against Reid's. "It is _definitely_ reason enough," he confirmed, "but I'm beginning to learn how that amazing brain of yours works."

Raising a hand in defeat, Reid shrugged. "I was just debating which of us is the trophy wife."

It took Luke only a quick blink to catch up. "Me, obviously. I'm the hot young thing that no one else could get because I was too busy looking for my next victim."

"But you have all the money," Reid pointed out, "if anyone should be the trophy wife, it should be me."

"Vacuous and empty-headed? Yeah, that sounds like you."

"Well it doesn't sound anything like you, either. And au contraire anyway, Mr Snyder. Anyone who is clever enough to marry a geriatric - who still has their faculties intact - for their money and get away with it should be celebrated, not ridiculed." At Luke's odd look, he continued. "That takes brains. Determination, planning, preparation. The skills that really show a person's intelligence."

Luke nodded thoughtfully. "That actually explains a lot."

Leaning back in his chair, Reid frowned at Luke. "What do you mean?"

"When you first told me about Barbara blackmailing you, you didn't sound particularly...traumatised. Or even upset," he pointed out. "If anything, you sounded kind of reluctantly impressed."

"I kind of am," Reid agreed, "I may not like what she did, but she did what it took to get things done. There's a single-mindedness in that that I appreciate."

Luke's nodding slowly came to a stop as he regarded Reid closely. When he spoke, his voice was quieter than usual. "What about Damian?"

He knew Luke wouldn't like it, but he wasn't about to deliberately lie to him. "I think he was extremely clever - up to a point. The planning ahead he did was pretty damn clever, but it all fell apart when he had to suddenly think on his feet. He panicked and couldn't follow through the way he was supposed to."

"So..." Luke frowned, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing, "...you still admire him?"

"Admiration is the wrong word," Reid explained. "If I look at it objectively I can say - yeah, this was actually clever. This took some brains. However, I can't look at it objectively most of the time because the guy he used all this planning on? Was you. So, some small part of me can appreciate the brains it took to pull this off, yeah. But most of me? Hates his guts."

Slowly looking reassured, Luke leant forward, resting an arm on the table. "Why do you think he confessed?"

Reid shrugged. "Maybe he thought there was no way out. Maybe he thought it was finally time to do the right thing for once. Maybe he had a growth in his brain that pressed on his prefrontal cortex, forcing him to blurt out the truth," he shrugged. "It's all supposition, Luke. Unless he finally decides to tell you why he did it, we'll probably never know."

"Well I'm never going to visit him in prison," Luke said firmly, "so I'll just have to live with the not knowing."

"Okay," Reid replied, thinking things were getting pretty damn dreary for what was supposed to be a first date and that needed to change, fast, "drinks?"

After they ordered their drinks, Luke gave him a look.

Reid frowned. "What?"

"I don't want you to think you can't drink because of me."

"It's not because of you," Reid said, then amended, "okay, not just because of you. I've never been a big drinker - or even a regular drinker. I never did the frat boy thing in college."

"I can imagine you in college," Luke told him, "watching everyone else get drunk and making fools of themselves, thinking they were idiots."

"That pretty much sums up my life now," Reid said. "In any case, doctors and hangovers are never a good combination, and being on-call, you have to be prepared to go into surgery at a moment's notice. Can't do that drunk. I'm not saying you can't resist it," he said firmly, meeting Luke's gaze, "that you can't handle being around someone who's drinking. However," Reid continued certainly, "you can't tell me it's not practical to be on the safe side, either."

Shrugging, Luke glanced down. "I just don't like the idea of anyone have to give any...special consideration to the way they act around-"

"Luke," Reid interrupted brusquely, making him look up, "I'm in love with you. This is not a special consideration. It's not a hardship not to drink in front of you. It's completely selfish," he explained, "I'm not even doing it for you. I'm doing it for _me_ , so I feel better. Okay?"

Hesitating, Luke nodded. "Sorry. It's just...a touchy area, you know?"

"Of course," Reid shrugged it off, leaning in closer. "So," he promptly changed subjects, "If you are the trophy wife but are loaded yourself, what was it that attracted you to me, exactly?"

Growing in confidence, Luke leant in himself, placing a hand on Reid's thigh, speaking huskily. "That would be your huge," Reid definitely liked the turn this conversation had taken, " _huge_ -"

"Luke! Hey, man!"

Reid recognised the voice immediately, and even as Luke's hand flew away from Reid's thigh, Reid turned around to glare at Casey Hughes. Alison was with him, too, which was even more annoying.

"Casey," Luke said awkwardly, trying to look like he hadn't just been groping Reid's leg, "Alison. Hi."

"What are you doing here?" Alison asked with blatant interest, glancing from Luke to Reid and back again.

Reid just stared at her. "Okay, I realise this is hard for you, but try using your brain for just a few moments. We're sitting together, in a romantic environment at night-"

"Well of course I thought it _looked_ like a date," Alison interrupted, narrowing her eyes at him, "I just didn't think it was something you would deign to put yourself through."

"Why wouldn't I?" Reid asked, completely confused. "I'm with the hottest guy in town. Of course I'm going to show him off." It was a no brainer.

"Reid," Luke tried to rebuke, but he was obviously so pleased at Reid's comment that there was no real heat to it. "Anyway!" he quickly announced. "What are you two doing here?"

"Same thing," Casey explained, "only with less sarcasm. Wanna double date?" he asked cheekily. Reid was about to let rip with a horrified _No!_ when Casey chuckled. "Nah, I'm just messing with you, man. Have a good night. Don't do anything we wouldn't do," he winked, stepping away, Alison eagerly going with him.

Shaking his head, Luke smiled softly at Reid. "Sorry. This date's not going too well, is it?" One of the reasons Reid had never been particularly interested in romance was how _planned_ it usually was. Planning something romantic usually took the spontaneity out of it, and then how was it romantic at all? "First we get all moody about Damian, then my drinking, then my friends interrupt..."

This actually seemed like a good opening for his news, rather than ruin the mood again later. "Actually, there's something I...well, Katie, actually, said I should-"

"Dr Oliver?"

Rolling his eyes, Reid quickly angled his body around in the chair to see Paul and Emily smiling at him. Paul, he expected. Emily smiling at him was just freaky.

Still seated in his wheelchair but otherwise dressed up to the nines, Paul nodded at him. "Hey, Doc."

"Don't tell me," Reid retorted, "date?"

"Even better," Emily said happily. Reid didn't think he'd ever seen her do anything happily before. "It's a celebration. We're getting married!" she declared, flashing the decent-sized ring currently adorning his ring finger. It made complete sense to Reid that, instead of doing the cliché hair-pat, trying to get him to realise the new ring on her finger was even there, Emily just shoved it into his face instead.

"Shiny," he nodded, because really, what else was he supposed to say? He knew zilch about jewellery and cared about it even less.

"Congratulations!" Luke enthused.

"Your mother must be thrilled," Reid said flatly, imagining Barbara's less-than-happy reaction.

"Not quite the word she used," Paul admitted, "but she's dealing with it. Anyway, when we saw you over here we wanted to come and say thanks."

That was a surprise. "Why on earth would you do that?"

"Well, without your help I may never have woken up. And Emily and I may not have found each other again," he said sappily, smiling up at her.

Reid made a face. "Yeah, I'll take the thanks for the surgery, but the rest was all your doing. I don't do romance."

"Right," Paul retorted, smirking as he nodded at the way Reid and Luke were leaning in to each other, "sure you don't. Just remind me - why are you staying in town again?"

Reid squinted at him. "I can always put that microchip back in, you know."

Chuckling, Paul started turning his wheelchair away from the table. "I think that's my cue to leave," he joked, "have a good night."

Sighing, turning back to Luke, Reid paused at the dopey expression on his face. "What?"

"You," Luke grinned stupidly, "making friends."

"Paul's not a _friend_ ," Reid scoffed, "he's a patient."

"Not anymore," Luke pointed out. "It's cute," he added.

"I don't do cute-"

"Just like you don't do romantic?" Luke questioned, teasing. "We both know that's not true, Mr I Can't Be Where You Aren't." Reid opened his mouth to produce another retort, when Luke kept speaking. "What did you want to talk about?"

Grudgingly, Reid relented but only because the sooner he got this over with the better. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I haven't been talking about work a lot lately."

Luke looked vaguely guilty. "To be honest, I've been so wrapped up in us I didn't even notice."

"That's fine," Reid quickly insisted. "Anyway, the truth is I haven't really wanted to talk about work lately because-"

"Well, look who it is, My Little Munchkin," Henry's nasal tones interrupted. Reid was just about ready to thump his head against the table. At this point it'd probably even be worth the potential brain injury.

Making a sympathetic face at Reid, Luke turned his attention to the newcomers. "Hey, Henry, Vienna."

"Luke," Henry acknowledged.

"It's good to see you," Vienna smiled.

"Seriously," Reid complained, "is there only one place to go in this town on a Friday night?" They all stared at him. "Right, that answers that question." Sighing, he bowed to the inevitable. "What do you want, Hank? Besides ruining my evening."

"Surprising as this may be," Henry sighed, "I actually want to thank you."

Okay, this was turning into an extremely bizarre evening. " _Why?_ "

"I took your advice," Henry told him, "got Katie to trap us in the bathroom in our hotel room."

"It was the best decision you ever made," Vienna told him lovingly in her heavily-accented voice, turning to face him, placing a hand against his cheek.

Covering her hand with his own, Henry smiled emotionally. "I'm just glad it brought us back together, sweetheart."

Oh, seriously. Even Luke was looking uncomfortable at how sickeningly sweet they were being. Reid couldn't wait for them to leave. "Well, you're welcome, etcetera, etcetera. You can leave now."

Lowering her hand, Vienna frowned at him. "You're Dr Oliver, yes?" He nodded. "I don't believe we've been formally introduced. Vienna Hyatt," she said, holding out a hand.

Surprised at the name, Reid quickly shook her hand in the hope that she'd move on. "As in the hotel?"

"One and the same," she confirmed, "not that I have much to do with the family anymore," Vienna admitted. "Henry's told me so much about you."

Henry suddenly found the ceiling fascinating. "Dumpling, let's get a move on before we lose our-"

Reid's lips twitched. "All bad, I hope." And seriously - _dumpling?_

"Oh, not at all," Vienna insisted.

"We _really_ have to go!" Henry suddenly yelled, grabbing Vienna's hand and tugging her away.

Smiling to himself, Reid shook his head only to turn back around and see Luke doing the same. "What?"

"Yeah, you're a real Mr No Friends."

"No idea what you're talking about," he argued because really. Hank? A friend?

"Uh huh," Luke murmured disbelievingly. "We can debate this some other time, but for now - what did you want to talk about?"

Reid hesitated, expecting another interruption. When none actually seemed to be forthcoming, he regarded Luke quietly.

"Reid," Luke said softly, frowning, "what's wrong?"

*

Luke was looking at him with such concern, such worry, that Reid knew he just had to get it over with, regardless of any consequences.

"The truth is," he began slowly, "that I haven't been very happy lately," he rushed on, seeing the bleak expression suddenly appearing on Luke's face, "at _Memorial_."

Luke's expression improved somewhat, but he still looked profoundly confused and vaguely upset. "Oh."

Holding his hands out, he waited as Luke caught on and followed suit, holding his own hands out. Grabbing the left one, Reid carefully held it between his palms. He acknowledged that it would normally be what he'd classify as an eye roll-inducing move, but Luke was getting that look that appeared whenever he was about to blame himself for something that wasn't his fault.

"I'm happy with you," Reid assured him, "shamelessly, disgustingly happy. I walk around with a song in my heart and a skip in my step, thinking all the time how much everyone else should envy me - more than they already do - because I have Luke Snyder on my arm. You know that."

Slowly smiling to himself in pleasure, Luke nodded his agreement. "I do," he said sincerely.

That was something. "You know staying in Oakdale was never my original intention." Luke nodded, taking the information as fact and not being offended by it. Satisfied, Reid continued. "And even when I took the Head of Neurology job, it was partly to not raise suspicion about why I was staying, but it was also to give me something to _do_. Boredom in this town would send me stark raving mad."

Listening intently, Luke licked his lips. "It's getting boring anyway?"

He shrugged, not having a clear answer himself. He did, however, have a supposition. "When I took the job, Oakdale happened."

Luke made another confused face. "What does _that_ mean?"

"What do you think it means?" Reid asked rhetorically. "Blackmail by an overprotective mother, some romantic blond guy getting my insides twisted in knots, his apparent death and sudden resurrection, the most unlikely romantic relationship this side of Bert and Ernie, the Bad Dad drama, Paul getting his memory back..." He paused for a few moments, giving Luke some time to think it all over. "There was always something going on."

Luke, being Luke, decided to turn Reid's reaction into a positive. "Dr Oliver, are you actually admitting that you enjoy the ludicrous things you always complain about and even - dare I say it - miss them now?"

"Ha, nice try," Reid argued, watching a smirk flick across Luke's mouth. "The best thing I can ever say about them is that they helped pass the time. Now that Paul's memory is back," he continued, "with that original job completed...I've been focusing more on my day-to-day work."

Luke's smirk fell away. "And it's boring," he concluded. Reid nodded reluctantly, not liking the expression on Luke's face. Luke continued talking. "And there's nothing you can do to...I don't know, make it more interesting?"

Reid shrugged. "Honestly, I only just realised how bad it was myself." He'd been ignoring, or trying to ignore, the general feeling of blandness in his current job because he was so stupidly happy otherwise. "I haven't really had any time to think over other options."

"Well, how bad is it?" Luke asked bluntly, immediately moving into problem-solving mode. "Do you need to start looking for another job? Because the last thing I want is for you to start resenting me for 'keeping' you in a job that you hate."

"That's the last thing I want, too," Reid agreed, squeezing Luke's hand.

Luke sighed. "You put your condo up for sale," he said sadly.

"I know," he nodded.

"Do you need to take it off the market?"

Oh, he did not like where this is going. "Luke, I'm not going back to Dallas-"

"I'm not suggesting we go our separate ways," Luke said quickly, "whatever the problem, we'll deal with it together. I mean, we're Luke Snyder and Reid Oliver, right?" he joked awkwardly. "Nothing can stop our combined forces."

That was more like it. "You mean Reid Oliver and Luke Snyder?"

"Age before beauty?" Luke managed a smile.

Reid tilted his head forward. "Seniority."

"Well, you are so very, _very_ old," Luke mocked. They smiled at each other, sharing a moment of warmth. Eventually, Luke continued with his explanation. "What I was going to say, is that maybe we could both go to Dallas. Together. You could resume your work at the Centre-"

"No."

"Reid-"

"No." His voice bore no leeway, no room for negotiation. "Everyone you've ever loved is in this town. I know I've not always been entirely...supportive of some of the relationships in your family-"

"That's putting it mildly."

Reid ignored the comment. For now. "-and I know they can be dumb as a bunch of rocks-"

"Hey!"

"-but I know how important your family is to you. I refuse to be responsible for separating you from them."

Luke sighed heavily, as if Reid was especially frustrating - which was probably the case. "But if I'm willing to move away, shouldn't that be my decision?"

"Normally, I'd agree," Reid conceded, "but I get a freebie on this one."

"Why's that?"

"Because if you get to be worried about me being resentful about a boring job, I get to be worried about you being resentful about moving away from Oakdale."

Hmpfhing, Luke acknowledged his point with a nod. "So, we stay in Oakdale - or at least nearby, somewhere within easy reach." Personally, Reid thought even 'nearby' was too far away for Luke - despite the Snyder family vow to let Luke get on with his own life, Luke would always want to be immediately available, just in case. "Also," he said awkwardly, "it's interesting that you brought this up."

Reid narrowed his eyes. "...why?"

"I'm bored out of my mind, too!" he announced rapidly, tugging his hand out of Reid's and gesturing with it. "I mean, the whole reason I took the job with Damian in the first place is because it gave me something to do, something new to learn about when I realised I wasn't interested in going back to college. Shipping was an area I knew absolutely nothing about whatsoever and, to be honest, I wanted to learn more about Damian." He made a face, obviously regretting that choice - and reasoning.

"What about the Foundation?"

Making a face, Luke tipped his head to one side. "This is going to sound really stupid..."

"I remind you that we live in Oakdale," Reid told him, "stupidity is a way of life. It'll have to be _incredibly_ stupid to really impress me."

"Well, it might be at that," Luke said wryly, before quickly continuing, "I don't what to do with all that money!" Reid blinked. Luke kept talking. "I've had money - well, my family's had money - my whole life. And they've been really good at not abusing it, you know? We were always taught that it wasn't the money or material possessions that mattered - it was the people in your life and how you dealt with them. I never really had my own share of the family money - and won't until I turn 25 - and then Damian suddenly threw all this money on my lap," he gestured wildly again, like he still couldn't believe it'd happened. "The Grimaldi inheritance. Millions. Literally. Millions and millions. And at first it was easy," he rushed on, "start the Foundation. Support local causes I believed in, with the added bonus of picking those causes because I thought it would piss Damian off."

Reid smirked. "Your own form of revenge."

"Exactly," Luke acknowledged. "But then the Z Twins happened."

What the hell? "The what now?"

"It's a very long, very strange story, but let's just say one of them - the woman - turned out to be from some distant part of the Grimaldi family, and she decided the inheritance belonged to her, instead of some guy who'd turned his back on the family."

"You," Reid presumed.

"Right," Luke replied. "When their attempt to get their hands on the money directly failed, she decided on an..." he looked extremely uncomfortable, "...alternative method."

"Alternative?"

"Yeah," Luke looked down at his hands. "I told you I'd been kidnapped before."

"Yeah, a couple of times," Reid replied immediately, studying Luke suspiciously.

"This was one of those times. Noah had been shot. I was tied up. Powerless. And she decided that to get the money, she needed an heir. Using me as her prize horse," he chuckled darkly, still staring down at his hands.

Reid could only stare at him, truly stunned, as a wave of revulsion towards the woman in question swept through his body. He didn't even want to ask. "Did...?"

"No," Luke shook his head quickly, repeatedly. "No."

The relief was so profound it nearly hurt, and yet...part of Reid couldn't believe he hadn't known about this. It was definitely Luke's story to tell, but if Reid had done something, unwittingly, to spark off a memory...the thought was unbearable.

But even as he thought that, he had to set the feeling aside. This wasn't about him.

"Where is she now?"

Luke finally looked up at him. "Zoe? Well, Gia. In prison."

Right where she belonged. "Good. Because if I ever meet this Zoe or Gia or whatever the hell her name is? I'm taking her down."

Surprised, Luke even managed a few quiet chuckles. "I'd really like to see that. A _lot_." Pausing for a moment, he carefully took hold of Reid's right hand, bringing it up to his lips. Pressing a kiss to a still bruised knuckle, he glanced up at Reid from under his eyelashes. "Just don't put these at risk again, okay?"

Reid was pretty sure his insides had just turned to jelly. Somehow forcing solidity back into his bones, his tugged his hand free and then scooted his chair closer to Luke's, leaning in until they were resting against each other, Reid's arm around Luke; Luke's head against Reid's shoulder. "I promise nothing," he said quietly, still trying to dampen down the rage threatening to break inside him.

"After that," Luke sighed, casually resting a hand on Reid's thigh, "I kind of...lost interest in doing anything new with the Foundation. Seeing someone willing to go that far to get the inheritance...it made me think that I'd been right all along, and that I should've stuck with my first instinct and refused the money in the first place."

"Understandable," Reid nodded, "but in that case, what have you actually been doing whenever you go to the Foundation?"

"Admin on a couple of small causes we've been supporting. Searching for an apartment for you?" he admitted. "Trust me, I'm really not the domestic type, but it gave me something to do." That explained so much. "To be honest, before the last few days I've been doing a lot of research. I really don't want the money anymore, and I've been trying to decide which charities I should give it to."

Reid had to admit to feeling impressed. "Not many twenty-one year olds would do the same in your position."

"No other twenty-one year old is in my position," Luke pointed out, "and they're certainly not part of the crazy Grimaldi family." Sighing again, he squeezed Reid's thigh gently. "What a pair we make, huh? Both miserable in our professional lives, but-" He stopped talking when Reid reached up a hand, tipping Luke's chin up until they were looking into each other's eyes.

"Blissfully happy in our personal lives," Reid finished smarmily if truthfully and yeah, it was totally worth it for the flushed cheeks and huge grin Luke was now wearing.

After sharing a brief kiss, Luke brought his own hand up, gently touching the side of Reid's face. "I'm glad we talked about this," he said seriously, searching Reid's eyes.

Reid was frankly relieved it'd gone as well as it had. "Me too," he replied truthfully. It was all getting a bit too _much_ though, so then he glanced away towards the bar. "So, what's the plan?"

"We go and see the apartments tomorrow, as planned. See what you think. And you should talk to Bob, I suppose."

That made Reid turn back to face him. "Bob? Why?"

"Well, he's your Manager, right? Or Line Manager, whatever it is. Isn't that who you're supposed to go to when you're having a problem at work?"

That was technically true. "Well, yeah, but-"

"Plus, he's been a doctor for decades - he's probably had dull times at work, too. He'll probably be able to give you some really good advice," he suggested reasonably.

How did he do that? "You have this really annoying habit of making good points." Luke grinned smugly. "But what about you?"

The grin faltered. "I don't know. Keep researching charities, I suppose, see which ones feel right. And try and figure out what it is I actually want to do with my life."

"You're young," Reid told him, "you've got the time to figure it out."

"Logically, I can see that you're right," Luke responded, "but...Casey is studying to become a lawyer. Alison wanted to be a nurse - after some extremely crappy jobs, admittedly. Noah's always wanted to be a director. I just feel like the guy who can't make up his mind. _You've_ definitely always known what you wanted to be."

Yeah, not so much. "I wanted to be a boxer."

Surprised, Luke widened his eyes. "Your grandfather?"

He nodded. "Especially once he started sneaking me into lessons. I was so frustrated at my parents; it was the perfect outlet. Granddad said I was a natural," he smiled wistfully, remembering how good the praise had felt. "And then he had the stroke."

Luke nodded slowly in sympathetic understanding. "He's the reason you became a neurosurgeon."

Clearing his throat, Reid felt his eyes start to sting. He looked away. "Anyway, what's a man got to do to get food around here?"

A hand touched his arm, before Luke's voice finally responded. "Er," he started awkwardly, slipping his head from Reid's shoulder, sitting up, "actually..."

He had to be kidding. Reid turned back to glare at him. "Wait, wait. _Wait._ " Just wait a minute. "You brought me on a date to a place where there's no _food?_ Do you even know me at all?"

"They do food," Luke assured him, "it's just...snack-type stuff."

"Oh, _that_ sounds filling."

"Hey, Mr Overreaction, may I remind you that _Al's_ is like, twelve feet away?"

Reid sniffed. "That's not the point."

"We'll spend some time here, then go get something to eat at _Al's_. And in the meantime..." he glanced at something behind Reid and when Reid followed his gaze, a slither of dread slid down his spine.

Near the stairs, there were a few couples dancing.

"Yeah, I don't think so."

Simply ignoring him, Luke stood up, grabbing Reid's wrist and pulling him with him.

"Luke," Reid said, as he was tugged through the tables. Luke just kept walking. "Luke," he tried again, as Luke stepped into what was apparently the dance floor area. It wasn't particularly big. " _Luke_ ," he tried a third time, but then Luke released his wrist and spun around.

"If you really didn't want to be here," Luke told him knowingly, "you wouldn't have even let me pull you out of the chair." Reid opened his mouth but, really, there was no argument to that. "I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you've never danced with anyone before."

"Not with another guy," Reid agreed, "but I can dance. At least this kind of dancing," he nodded towards the others, slowly swaying from side to side in each other's arms. "I did a lot of fundraising when I set up the Centre. That meant a lot of wining, a lot of dining, and way too much dancing with rich old ladies who were a little too frisky with their hands."

Luke laughed. "I'd love to have seen you trying not to offend them at the same time you were trying to keep their hands above waist level."

"Oh yeah, it was a real bundle of laughs," Reid replied sarcastically.

"Well, this time it's a guy," Luke pointed out, "more specifically, me. Come on," he encouraged, even taunting slightly, "you know you wanna dance with me." Stepping closer, Luke placed his hands on Reid's waist, smiling flirtatiously.

Honestly, by this point, Reid didn't even know why he even pretended he wasn't going to do something that Luke wanted him to do. He always ended up giving in. Making a point of sighing heavily - but from Luke's smile it was obvious he didn't believe it, and Reid really didn't mean it himself - Reid leaned into him.

It was admittedly a little weird at first, because in all the dancing Reid had done, he'd been doing the leading. That wasn't the case here, no one was really guiding things, but they fumbled their way through it together until they were simply leaning closely against each other, arms around each other, swaying from side to side as they slowly turned in a circle.

After a while he was even able to forget that anyone else was there - it was just Luke and the music, and Reid found himself closing his eyes.

"Let's just enjoy tonight," Luke said eventually, quietly, "and the weekend. And then we'll figure this out, Reid. We will. We'll make it."

Eyes still closed, Reid smiled into Luke's shoulder. "Luke Snyder and Reid Oliver, right?"

"Right," Luke replied warmly. "Nothing can stop us."

Reid had no reason to doubt him. So he didn't.

*

At midday the next day, they pulled up outside a building in Luke's car. A woman wearing a too-bright smile and a too-pink pant suit - she looked like a throwback to the '80's, especially with the huge hair - was waiting for them on the sidewalk, a leather-bound folder in her arms.

It was no surprise at all to discover that Luke knew her by her first name.

"Hey, Carol," he greeted cheerily, reaching out a hand.

"Luke," she replied with what appeared to be genuine happiness. It was hard for Reid to know whether to trust it, though. In her line of work she had be nice to people all the time or risk losing a sale. Regardless, Reid didn't envy her job. Being forced into _pleasantness_ all the time for the sake of your career was a truly appalling thought. Reid knew he'd never be able to do it.

Finished with Luke, Carol then offered her free hand to Reid. "Dr Oliver, I presume?"

Oh, joy. Reid shook her hand reluctantly. "Yeah, like I've never heard that one before. I hope you show properties better than you tell puns."

Carol looked utterly confused. "I'm sorry?"

After a quick glance at Luke - who, from the smile he was currently doing a poor job of masking, had thankfully understood the reference she'd unwittingly made - he was reassured that at least Luke was as intelligent as he appeared to be, even if everyone else in Oakdale was a few sandwiches short of a picnic.

Determined to get this over with as quickly as possible - thus getting Carol out of his presence as quickly as possible - Reid pulled his hand free with a smooth, "Never mind," and gestured towards the building. "Shall we?"

Only too eager to get started, Carol turned away sprightly and all-but scurried towards the apartment building. "This way, please!" They followed behind her and once at the door, Carol entered an access code into the keypad. After a moment a buzzer sounded and the door unlocked, opening slightly. Pulling the door open, Carol stepped aside, holding it open for them to go through. "Gentlemen," she encouraged.

The apartment was on the second floor, reached by the kind of tiny elevator always found in apartment buildings, or by a flight of well-lit stairs.

Reid chose the stairs.

Luke went with him, seemingly out of some kind of boyfriend solidarity or something. Carol went with them because she plainly wasn't about to risk doing anything that might even make them suspect that she wasn't capable of catering to their every whim.

Reid really didn't envy Carol her job.

The apartment itself seemed acceptable; Reid approved of either Luke's taste, or how well he knew Reid already. Maybe it was a combination of both. As Carol prattled on about square-footage, building amenities, the neighbourhood in general, Luke and Reid walked from room to room. It wasn't as big as his condo in Dallas - Oakdale had a lot less room in general - but it certainly didn't make him feel claustrophobic, either.

"And here," Carol pointed out, "this would make an excellent spare room for any family who come to visit-"

That seemed extremely unlikely. "They only live five minutes away," Reid pointed out.

Carol didn't let it faze her. "Or, perhaps, if a little Snyder-Oliver joins us in the future..." she suggested meaningfully, clearly trying to be progressive.

Reid and Luke looked at each other. From the expression they shared, they were definitely on the same page. Reid scowled deliberately. "Why does your name always come first?"

"People love me," Luke shrugged.

"No, people _know_ you," Reid rebutted, "they know your whole damn family."

Luke made a sympathetic face. "Don't be jealous, baby. After all," he stepped closer, into Reid's personal space, holding his gaze, "as soon as the rings are back from the engravers, you'll be part of the family, too."

As Carol made an undignified noise, Reid decided it was the perfect moment to kiss Luke. Also, Luke was so good at screwing with people's heads, Reid decided he deserved the kiss anyway.

Clearing her throat, Carol announced that she'd give them some privacy to think it over and fled from the room. As soon as she was gone, they pulled away from the kiss and smiled at each other.

"I approve of this side of you," Reid encouraged.

"I just followed your lead," Luke grinned. "So, really," he continued, stepping away and looking around, "what do you think?"

Reid still thought what he'd thought earlier - definitely acceptable. "It's fine. The price is fine. You seem to think it's fine-"

"I do," Luke agreed.

"-so I'll get it," Reid finished. "The sooner the better, I guess." Luke just stared at him. Reid frowned. "What?"

"That's it?" Luke asked.

"What's it?"

"You're choosing where you're going to be living, Reid. Your home. And all you can say is, 'it's fine'?"

For once, he really wasn't sure exactly what it was that Luke wanted. "It's bricks and mortar, Luke, what do you want me to say?"

Still looking disappointed, Luke shrugged. "I guess I just want you to be sure, that's all. If you're going to be staying here...permanently," he added, a word that produced a small, pleased smile despite his mood, "you have to know it's going to be a place you'll feel comfortable in. Where you'll fit in."

This was Oakdale. Reid wasn't sure he was ever really going to fit in. "So...what? I should check out the other place, too?"

Luke nodded enthusiastically.

As it turned out, Carol was the realtor for the other apartment, too. This didn't come as much of a surprise, as Reid had found himself wondering if it was even worth Oakdale having more than realtor - a point he was reminded of when they got into Luke's car and followed Carol's for all of four blocks.

"That was worth the drive," Reid snarked, slamming the car door shut.

Luke just rolled his eyes.

This apartment was on the third floor - and again, it had surprisingly roomy, well-lit stairs. Catching Luke's eye, Reid gave him an appreciative nod. Luke smiled smugly to himself.

The layout wasn't hugely different to the previous apartment - although it was a little smaller - and the walls were a slightly darker shade of white. Reid didn't know what the hell it was called, but he knew paints all had ridiculous names these days like _Apricot White_ and _Hint of Come Yellow_.

He snorted to himself. That one he might be willing to buy.

Carol didn't appear at all disappointed that Reid hadn't bought the first apartment on the spot, instead voicing her opinion that buying property was an important decision that took a wise, sound mind and shouldn't be rushed into. After blatantly massaging his ego, Carol once again stepped out with her pink pant-suit and huge hair, leaving him to think it over.

"The bathroom's bigger," Luke announced, voice echoing from the room in question.

"Yeah, but it's smaller in general," Reid retorted, inspecting the kitchen area. Walking through to the main window, Reid had to admit that this one did have a better view - but he wasn't the type to just sit and enjoy a view, anyway.

Unless that view was Luke.

...yeah, he was never telling anyone that he'd just had that thought.

"It's a minute closer to the hospital," Luke told him, strolling into the room with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans.

"Well, hell, a whole minute? That's worth moving in straight away," he mocked gently. "Let me get Carol back in - I'll sign on the dotted line right now."

Chuckling, Luke slowly approached. "Pros and cons are important."

Though Reid could see the logic in it - and he was generally a big fan of logic - he didn't necessarily agree. "Depends on what the pros and cons actually are. Some can easily out-weight others. For example," he explained, "I'm staying in Oakdale, insanity capital of the country. That's a huge, huge con. The con to beat all other cons - if not for one thing," Reid finished.

"And what's that?" Luke asked, grinning hugely, lowering his eyes happily, plainly already knowing the answer to his own question.

Reid quirked his lips up. "The food at _Al's_ ," he explained, immediately amused as Luke's face transformed into shock, his eyes snapping back up, "don't tell Hank, but those meatballs are something else."

"You-" Luke began, before grabbing Reid and literally manhandling him until his back was pressed up against the window. Reid didn't mind one iota, not even fighting back as Luke grabbed his wrists and spread his arms, holding him in place. They were grinning at each other. "Say what you were gonna say."

"You know what I was going to say," he pointed out.

"Say it anyway," Luke demanded.

Reid sighed, deliberately making a big production out of it. "You, Luke Snyder, love of my life, heart of my hearts, are the reason I'm staying in this miniscule town despite the fact that it probably doesn't even have DSL-"

"Ha. That's where you're wrong. They installed it here two years ago. It was in The Intruder and everything."

"You're not helping yourself, here," Reid told him, "and in any case, I bowed to _your_ demands. I now demand _my_ reward."

The reward, as Reid expected, was a kiss, Luke's hands still on Reid's wrists, holding him in place. It was extremely hot, but just as Reid was starting to rise to the occasion, Luke broke the kiss and stepped back, releasing Reid's arms.

"Later," he assured a disgruntled Reid, placing a hand against his chest. "So," he continued, stepping away and slowly turning in a circle, tipping his head back as he took in a view of the apartment, "which one do you prefer? Or do you want to keep looking?"

Reid didn't have much of an opinion either way, but decided to go with his first instinct. "The first one."

"Cool," Luke shrugged, doing a bad job of trying not to look happy, then hooked a thumb over his shoulder towards the exit, "shall I get Carol to get back in so you can tell her?"

Reid regarded him seriously. "There's something I should tell you, first," he said. As there was no furniture to sit on, he gestured for Luke to come closer again.

"What is it?" Luke asked, concerned.

"Just something I think you should know," Reid said genuinely, then continued, "it seemed important to you, but I'm coming at this from a completely different perspective."

"At what? Buying a home?"

"Exactly," he agreed, "you're looking at it like I'm buying a home - I'm not. It's a place to live. Four walls, a bed, a fridge."

Luke was frowning again. "But-"

"I never had a home; not in the traditional sense," Reid explained. "Buildings, apartments, have never meant anything to me. When I've gone back to Boston, it never even crossed my mind to go back and visit the 'family home' - it simply doesn't matter to me."

Luke stuttered through a few words, obviously completely confused at this view of life. "I...but...I can't even _imagine_..."

"I know a sense of family and home is important to you," Reid told him, "no doubt because of the way you were raised. Home is important to me, too, in its own way. But home for me was books. Boxing. Chess. And stop that lower lip from wobbling," Reid warned, seeing the look forming in Luke's eyes, "I didn't have some sad, tragic childhood. They didn't beat me. They didn't starve me. I just didn't get on with my folks. It happens more often than anyone likes to admit." When Luke nodded slowly, conceding, Reid continued. "Eventually, it became neurology and I was never lonely, because I always had my work. But sometimes it was people, too," he admitted, "my Grandfather. And don't ever tell her this, but there's a friend of mine, back in Dallas."

"I'd like to meet her," Luke smiled, "you never really talk about Dallas."

"And then," Reid continued, ignoring the comment for now, "there's you."

"Me?" Luke asked, managing to act surprised and pleased.

"Like you didn't know it was coming," Reid said knowingly.

"I may have...realised where you were heading," Luke shrugged happily, biting his lower lip. "So, what you're saying, Dr Oliver," he sidled closer still, rocking on the balls of his feet, gaze falling to Reid's mouth, "is that I'm home to you. That it doesn't matter where you live-"

"Provided it meets my rigorous hygiene criteria," Reid said.

"Provided it meets your rigorous hygiene criteria," Luke adapted, "that a building is just bricks, cement, wood and mortar. And that what really matters are the people inside it."

"Oh?" Reid asked innocently. "You're going to be spending a lot of time in my new place?"

Shuffling closer, Luke hooked his arms over Reid's shoulders. "Oh, you know it."

"Katie did tell me we were in the honeymoon period," he admitted, "that you'll probably be at the apartment as much as I will."

"Got a problem with that?" Luke asked huskily, leaning in until their noses were brushing.

"Hell, no," Reid growled, capturing Luke's lips in a kiss.

That, of course, was how Carol found them, exclaiming a loud "Oh!" at the sight.

Reid regretfully pulled away. Luke was a little more embarrassed.

"Sorry," he began awkwardly.

"Oh, that's okay," she assured him too quickly, "it's nice to see a couple so affectionate towards each other." Carol paused for a moment, before volunteering, "I saw an episode of _Queer as Folk_ , once. It was quite...eye-opening."

For once, Reid decided to be generous. They were probably the only gay couple she'd ever had to do business with. "I want the first one," he told her, instead of announcing that one episode of a cable TV show did not make her an expert on anything about their lives. For a start, Reid hated the club scene.

"Oh, how wonderful!" she enthused, eyes practically turning into dollar bills as she quickly flipped open her folder. "There are just a few details we need to go over..." Of course there were.

"Hey," Luke said quietly as he gazed at Reid, "you know what this means?"

"What?" he questioned. "Now I'm really trapped in this hellhole?"

"No," Luke made an unpleasant face, " _furniture shopping._ "

*

In the end, Reid solved the furniture problem by deciding to have everything he needed shipped from his condo in Dallas.

"Are you crazy?" Luke asked when he found out, wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts as he stood next to Reid's bed at Katie's place. "Do you have any idea how expensive that's going to be?"

"I have a disgustingly rich boyfriend," Reid shrugged, sitting up in bed with a journal in his hands, "he can spot me." When Luke still didn't appear amused even after the joke, he sighed. "What's the problem?"

"It's just so..." Luke gestured enthusiastically, "...impractical. And you're like the epitome of practicality."

"I am being practical," Reid argued, "I've done the furniture buying thing before, and it's not an experience I care to re-live. It was bad enough the first time around." He was traumatised just remembering it - the too-happy, eager to impress sales clerks constantly breathing down his neck. There was no way he was going through that again, not even for Luke. "This way, I don't have to. I know for a fact that I already like all of the furniture in the condo - seeing as I bought said furniture in the first place - and I'm rich enough to make this happen, a process that will save me a huge amount of time and stress. What's not practical about that?"

Considering, Luke absently rocked from side-to-side as he thought it over. "I hadn't thought about it that way," he finally admitted, moving to lean against the side of the bed, then kneel on top of the covers, folding his legs under him.

"Sometimes it's good to throw money around," Reid told him, tossing the journal onto the bedside table, "it just depends what it's for." Walking on his knees across the mattress, Luke smiled as he approached, straddling Reid's body. Enjoying this development immensely, Reid smiled back at him, moving his hands until they were splayed across Luke's bare thighs. "Tell you what - I need to go back soon, anyway. Deal with some paperwork. You should come with me."

Luke's smile grew even larger. "I'd love too," he said warmly, "I've never been to Dallas. And it'll be nice staying out of town with you when it has nothing to do with a kidnapping."

Chuckling, Reid gently squeezed Luke's thighs. Already, with Luke coming along, he was thinking of making it more than a quick, in and out, drop-in. They'd go see the condo. The Centre. Meet up with Susie (that was _bound_ to be interesting). Maybe even visit the bar Reid went to from time to time, although he'd have to see how Luke felt about going to a bar. He hadn't seemed too bothered by being at _Metro_ , even watching the bartender work, but better safe than sorry. "Next weekend?"

Luke frowned as he thought about it. "Should be okay," he nodded.

"I'll talk to Bob," Reid told him. His job wasn't usually a weekday-only, nine-to-five kind of job, but with his hands still technically out of commission and something important to do - such as selling a condo and moving everything he owned from Dallas to Oakdale - Reid couldn't see it being a problem.

"Good," Luke encouraged, "and at the same time, you can talk to him about your issues with work lately, too."

Reid made a face. He knew it was the right thing to do. He knew it was the practical thing to do. He just didn't _want_ to. He'd already opened his heart about work to Katie _and_ Luke. Why add a third person into the mix?

"Hey, Mr Grumpy Face,"

Reid sighed. "Have you been talking to Katie?"

"It's well-deserved," Luke told him. "Look, at the very least, he'll be able to give you some advice - and you know that you respect him, so don't even pretend that you don't. At best, he might be able to suggest or provide some options. He didn't become Chief of Staff for nothing, you know."

"Really?" Reid asked, not entirely convinced that anyone in position of authority in this town absolutely deserved their jobs - although Bob _may_ have been an exception. "In this place, I presumed you pulled a number out of a hat and were just handed the job."

Luke looked at him. "You might want to open with something different tomorrow."

Reid didn't particularly want to talk about this anymore, so purposefully changed the subject to an area he far preferred indulging in - sex. "I know something different I want to open right now."

Pausing, Luke groaned - and not in a fun way. "That was bad. Really. Aren't you supposed to be a genius?"

"Warned you I was a geek," Reid reminded.

Grinning, Luke lifted a hand up towards Reid's mouth. "Luckily for you, I'm finding geeks pretty hot these days. But only if they open their mouths for the right reasons." He tapped gently at Reid's lips and Reid immediately followed the explicit instruction, opening his mouth. Luke carefully pressed two fingers inside and Reid got to work straight away, wetting them with his mouth and tongue as Luke held his gaze.

When Luke eventually pulled his moist fingers free, Reid was going to ask Luke if he was sure his ass was up for it, but when Luke reached behind himself - fingers slipping beneath the band of his boxer shorts, making a soft sound as his eyes fell shut, teeth firmly biting his bottom lip - Reid decided that Luke would be the one to know, better than anyone else, exactly what his ass was and wasn't up for.

"Reid," Luke said breathily, eyes still closed as he slowly rocked on his own fingers, free hand bracing itself on Reid's shoulder. Reid's fingers were digging tighter than they should into the flesh on Luke's thighs, eyes devouring the sight before him, cock beginning to fill. "Reid," Luke repeated again, hips making small movements, "need this underwear off, but my hands are kind of busy. Little help?"

Luke really was evil, because he wanted help getting his underwear off but he still refused to let Reid use his fingers in any detailed way. In the end he was given permission to use the pair of scissors that he'd been keeping in the bedside table drawer for no particular reason; one of those pieces of random crap that unintentionally cluttered up a living space.

From now on, he was always keeping scissors in his bedside table.

It would've been a lot more practical to just get Luke to stop what he was doing and have him remove the underwear himself - but right now, screw practical. Luke obviously loved it, anyway, shivering as the metallic, rounded side of the scissors occasionally brushed against the skin.

When Reid started cutting the material, Luke let out of a breathy chuckle and Reid found himself following suit, the two of them laughing quietly - almost nervously - with each other like they were doing something wrong, forbidden.

It only made it hotter.

As each piece of material began to fall away, Luke worked himself on his fingers harder and harder and Reid's notoriously steady hands became extremely paranoid about cutting skin.

When the last needed piece of fabric had been cut, the scissors were tossed back in the drawer, Reid grabbing for a condom and lube. Luke finally stopped his ministrations, eyeing Reid the whole time as he unwrapped the condom and rolled it down Reid's dick, smoothing lube over the covered shaft with a decided twist in his wrist.

"Stop fucking with me," Reid growled.

Smiling to himself, Luke covered his fingers with lube before resuming his previous actions, carefully slipping his fingers inside him. He grunted a little as he pressed inside again and Reid damn near grunted in response.

This time, it seemed, they both wanted to take it slow, and after Luke had removed his fingers and lined Reid's cock into position, he lowered himself down, slowly and carefully.

Reid closed his eyes as it happened and when Luke was done, all the way down, Reid focused on the tight heat surrounding his cock. Both of Luke's hands were now on his shoulders, Reid's resting either side of Luke's waist and when he felt a slight brush of a mouth against his own, Reid opened his eyes to see Luke looking at him fondly.

"How you doing?" Reid asked quietly, bringing up a hand to brush across Luke's hair.

"Good," Luke replied warmly. "Kind of sore," he admitted, flushing, "but not too much. I like it."

"Always knew you could handle anything," Reid smiled in a way that was perhaps a little proud and a lot turned on and then Luke leaned in, slotting their mouths together - and began to move.

*

Disgustingly bright - seriously, a few months ago he would've been ashamed of himself - and early the next morning, Reid headed straight for the hospital to talk to Bob. He wasn't particularly thrilled at the prospect of having this conversation at all, but the sooner it started, the sooner it'd be over with.

Reid hadn't caught even a glimpse of Bob as he traversed _Memorial_ , so he made his way to the Chief of Staff office, ultimately bumping into someone standing outside.

"Reid," Kim Hughes greeted warmly, "how very good to see you. I feel as if I haven't seen you for a while."

"Uh, I guess," Reid shrugged. "Is there a line?" he asked, pointing towards the office door.

"I suppose there is, but I'll certainly let you go in first," she announced with a knowing smile, "you have the look of a man who urgently needs to talk about something."

Right then, Reid didn't even question it, just relieved to be able to get to Bob faster. "Thanks."

"My news is nothing urgent, in any case," she told him, "just something I forgot to tell my husband this morning that I wanted to convey in person. I heard all about what happened in Louisville," Kim said suddenly, sounding impressed. "It was quite touching." When Reid made a face, she laughed. "I know you're not a man fond of sentimentality-"

"I definitely used to be," he argued, aware of just how much this thing with Luke had changed his tolerance for sentimentality in all forms.

Nodding her acknowledgement, Kim continued. "I've long believed that, in its own way, love makes heroes of us all."

Surprised, Reid frowned at her. "I thought it was 'fools'?"

"Have you read 'A Midsummer's Night Dream', Reid?"

Reid was a little disturbed by the use of his first name. "Yeah." It was a long time ago, but if he concentrated he could probably still recite whole passages verbatim.

"Shakespeare was a great writer," Kim began, "but he had a rather cynical view of the world - and especially love. Something tells me that's not something you and he have in common."

Now he was just confused as hell. "Why's that?"

"As I said," she explained, "love makes heroes of us all. You took that interpretation a little too literally."

Apparently pleased with herself, she was still smiling enigmatically when the door to Bob's office swung open, the man in question standing in the open doorway.

"Kim," he said, sounding surprised, "Dr Oliver. Who-?"

"Dr Oliver was here first," Kim said, "I can wait."

"If you're sure," Bob replied, stepping back to give Reid entrance.

Pausing for a moment, Reid nodded at Kim before stepping inside.

Once the door was shut and they were sitting on opposite sides of the desk, Bob clasped his fingers together on top of the desk and smiled and Reid. "How can I help you, Reid?"

"The thing is," Reid began, "I'm kind of bored out of mind."

Clearly disappointed, Bob sank back into his chair. Taking a moment to gather himself, he spoke. "Have you been feeling this way for a long time?"

"It's kind of been there all along?" Reid said honestly, "but especially since..." He lifted his annoyingly useless hands up.

"I see," Bob murmured contemplatively. "Do you feel the situation could improve when you're able to operate again?"

"Probably slightly," he nodded, then added a significant, "but only slightly."

Nodding his understand, Bob sighed. "I will admit," he said, "this was a concern of mine when you first asked about the job."

"My becoming bored?"

"Precisely," Bob told him. "Reid, you've worked in some of the best facilities across the US. Until recently, you ran one of the best neurology centres anywhere on Earth."

"I think it spoiled me," Reid confessed, a truth he hadn't admitted to anyone so far. He'd worked so hard at making it the best, at being able to spend most of his time doing what he really loved about the job, that anything else was just boring in comparison.

"I was aware, Reid," Bob continued, "that _Memorial_ was quite a step down from your previous job - and it doesn't take a genius such as yourself to understand your reasons for staying," he said knowingly, "and I was also aware that talent such as yours should not be wasted. I was going to wait a while longer, see how you felt when you'd really settled into the job."

What the hell? "Wait to do what?"

Bob leaned forward, clasped his hands together again - and smiled. "I have a proposal for you."

*

"A new neurology centre?" Luke asked, stunned. "That was his proposal?"

Unscrewing the cap from a bottle of water, Reid sat down on Katie's sofa, sprawled out and tossed the cap towards the coffee table. "Not so much a separate centre as a new wing of the hospital, but..." he paused, taking a much needed swig of water. Finished, he turned to look at Luke who was still standing by the chair at the end of the coffee table. "But...yeah. That's pretty much it." Reid had been able to ponder over Bob's proposal all day and he still wasn't sure how he felt about it.

"How do you feel about it?" Luke asked, an unfortunate question that made Reid roll his eyes. Moving to sit next to him, Luke widened his own eyes meaningfully and though Reid rolled his eyes again, he lifted his arm so Luke could settle in underneath, resting against him.

"Not sure," he shrugged. "Excited but wary at the same time?"

"Why excited?"

"It's a huge challenge," he explained, "but I know from experience that it'd extremely satisfying on a professional level. Plus, it'd bring more money, prestige and recognition into the area - and let's face it, for Oakdale that can only be a good thing."

Luke tapped a hand lightly against Reid's chest in faint annoyance at the slight aimed at his hometown. "Why wary?"

"I've done this all before," he pointed out. "What if, once we get the process started, it turns out to be another case of 'been there, done that'? I won't just be able to back out, because my annoying work ethic won't let me leave something unfinished once I've started." Coming to a stop he sighed, taking another swig of his water. He offered Luke some - who shook his head negatively - and then he extracted his arm from around Luke, giving himself enough room to lean forward, place the bottle on the table and screw the cap back on. That done, he settled back against the sofa again, automatically lifting his arm for Luke who immediately settled back in place.

Luke made a contemplative noise. "There is a lot to consider, but I don't think you'll get bored."

Reid eyed him skeptically. "Do you have any idea the amount of paperwork it takes to get something like this up and running? And Oakdale no doubt has some draconian law about only being able to break ground on the second Tuesday after a full moon, when the sole existing virgin is sacrificed."

"You heard about that?" Luke said seriously, teasing. Reid made a face. Luke laughed. "No, really, Reid - I think you'll enjoy it. Sure, I'm not gonna say it'll _never_ get boring - especially if it takes as much paperwork as I think it does, and I've opened up my own charitable foundation. That was bad enough. But..."

"But..." Reid prompted.

"Think how proud you'll feel once it's finished," Luke encouraged, "how accomplished. I bet you felt amazing when the Centre finally opened." That might have been a fair assessment of how Reid had felt at the time. "And it's not like you won't be able to operate the entire time through planning, development and actual construction. The rest of the hospital will still be here. In fact, with the new wing inevitably taking up more of your time, I bet Bob would even arrange for the other neuro-surgeons on staff to take over some of your less...engrossing responsibilities."

Luke was making it sound more and more attractive - but then he had his own reasons for doing so. "You make a fair argument," Reid conceded, "but bear in mind I know that you want me to stay in town."

"Of course I want you to stay in town - but that's not the reason I'm doing this. Besides, you told me you were staying and you're a man of your word. I believe you." Stretching his neck out, he pressed a kiss to Reid's cheek. Pulling his head back, he regarded Reid warmly, if seriously. "I genuinely think this would be a good move for you. You're a good man; a good doctor, and I know being responsible for another neuro-facility, another no doubt world-renowned facility to help those in need will make you feel really good about yourself."

Reid snorted quietly - Luke had such a positive image of him. "This Reid Oliver you see in your head? He sounds about ten times the man I am."

"No," Luke argued softly, insistently, reaching the hand resting on Reid's chest up to touch the side of his jaw, "it's you. Flaws and all. Imperfectly perfect." A small smile twitched at his lips. "I know you're not some kind of Superman, Reid - although I wouldn't mind seeing you in the costume - and that you can be short-tempered, pretend to care less than you really do because you think it's easier for you to compartmentalise, and you certainly don't suffer fools gladly."

Reid shook his head. "By all means, win me over by continuing to list my apparently many faults."

Luke smiled at him wryly. "And you still use humour to deflect anything you don't want to confront. You probably always will."

It was sickening how well Luke knew him sometimes, Reid's feelings on the subject wavering depending on if Luke was complimenting or insulting him at the time. "Is this something you learnt from that Therapy 101 class you undoubtedly took at Oakdale High? Go Nighthawks?" He raised his unoccupied arm, pumping a fist into the air.

"No, dork, this is from the Reid 101 class I've been taking since you strolled into town."

That actually sounded...not that bad. "A class about me?"

"Oh, Dr Oliver," Luke announced dramatically, "there could be an entire _curriculum_ based around you."

That _was_ true...but Reid wasn't that easy to win over. "It's blatantly obvious that you're massaging my ego, Mr Snyder."

Luke shrugged impishly. "What else was I supposed to do to stop you complaining?"

Reid narrowed his eyes. "Try not insulting me in the first place?"

"But where's the fun in that?"

Reid shook his head. "Okay, fine, I'm the man for the job." It wasn't that easy or that simple, but when thinking about it all day, certain thoughts had crossed Reid's mind that would definitely make this new job situation more interesting. "What about you?"

"What about me?" Luke asked, smile faltering slightly.

"Well, where else am I going to get the money to build this new neuro-wing?"

Luke looked utterly stunned. "You want _me_ too..." He sat up, shaking his head in disbelief. "I thought it'd be more rich old ladies trying to grab your ass."

"I suffered enough of that the first time round. Hopefully, this time, it'll be a hot young guy doing a lot more than grabbing my ass." He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Missing the comment, Luke stared off to one side. "This'll be a huge responsibility. Bigger than anything I've done before. Even the Foundation." He started smiling to himself for a moment then suddenly looked back at Reid, turning serious. "Reid, if I do this - if I'm even capable of doing this; I'm gonna have to get Grandmother's advice - I won't be just a donor. I won't just hand over the money and leave you to it. I want to be involved. Deeply involved. I know I haven't had the most orthodox of careers by anyone's standards," he admitted wryly, "but I do take work seriously. And I'll work hard."

"You better," Reid said seriously, "because if you don't I'll kick you off the project myself, donor or not."

"Right back at you," Luke retorted, "though I honestly doubt it'll be a problem for either one of us. This is so exciting!" he suddenly enthused, getting to his feet and walking towards the kitchen.

His excitement was contagious, but Reid found himself trying to rein it in instinctively, standing up himself. "We don't even know if it's happening, yet."

"I know, I know," Luke turned back to face him, gesturing with his hands, "but just imagine working together, Reid!" A thought obviously occurred to him, as an unpleasant expression flickered across his face. "Oh, God. Imagine _working together_ , Reid. What if we drive each other crazy?"

Reid smirked. "We already do."

"I'm serious."

"So am I," he argued, "and somehow, it's a combination that's worked. No doubt, I'll argue for what the patient actually needs, and you'll argue for on-site watercolour painting lessons to 'help them express their pain'-"

"Hey!"

"But we'll find some middle ground," Reid continued, "just like we always do."

Luke stared at him hopefully. "You don't think we'll get sick of each other?"

"Hasn't happened so far," he shrugged, "and it's been - oh, what? Practically every moment alone together for weeks now? Can't see that changing."

"Aww, Reid..." Luke said, flushing happily.

It was too good an opportunity to pass up. "And remember, I've seen that ridiculous face you make when you're brushing your teeth," Reid pointed out. "If that doesn't make me sick of you, nothing will."

The flush didn't last long, replaced with indignation. "Excuse me for wanting to make sure that my dental hygiene is as up to scratch as it can be."

"I applaud your efforts with your teeth," Reid nodded, "knowing your luck, your replacement gold tooth would be made out of some pirate's bounty, and his ghost would hunt you down to vow revenge for taking what's rightfully his."

"Like that would _ever_ happen," Luke rolled his eyes, then made an unpleasant face. "I'd never get a gold tooth."

Reid quirked his lips up. "My mistake."

"I still can't believe this," Luke said, stepping away as he shook his head. "I have to admit, the more I think about it...the more excited I get." Turning back to Reid again, he grinned stupidly.

Reid had to admit that the thought of working on this with Luke was making the idea infinitely more appealing. No doubt, they were going to end up one of those couples who started dressing alike, finishing each other's sentences and generally being irritating to everyone they came across for being so sickeningly sweet.

Hell, if _Reid_ saw the two of them together he'd probably hate them himself.

Apparently having another thought, Luke's smile turned into a frown. "This could probably be seen as a conflict of interest, though, right? The brains behind the neuro-wing-"

"-screwing the brains out of the guy with all the money?" Reid asked. "I guess we'll have to talk to Bob about it. If he can get it past the Board of Directors..."

"This could actually happen!" Luke announced, smile returning with full-force. "Oh!" he suddenly exclaimed. "What did he say about Dallas?"

Reid smiled.

*

The rest of the week passed in a whirl of activity. When Reid wasn't consulting or on rounds, he, Luke and Bob were clustered around Bob's desk, prepping the presentation they were planning to make to the Board. If the first few days were anything to go by, he and Luke would definitely work well together, even though they could still get somewhat...passionate, sometimes. The only downside was that he couldn't really just grab Luke and kiss the hell out of him whenever he felt like it - although from the smirks he saw Bob sending them sometimes, the old man definitely knew he wanted to.

In the evenings their work continued, the two of them spreading endless paperwork over the coffee table at Katie and Brad's, going over the figures Reid had asked Susie to e-mail over, arguing over one point or another between bites of hoagies and sips of soda (this usually resulted in a tussle on the floor and bread crumbs being ground into the carpet, but as long as they vacuumed afterward, no one seemed to care). 

When Reid and Bob were otherwise detained at the hospital, Luke was getting information and advice from Lucinda, who from all accounts was thrilled at this potential career step for Luke. She taught him every negotiation tactic she knew, and fortunately knew all of the members of the Board personally - which wasn't a huge surprise given the size of the town _Memorial_ resided in - but she also knew them extremely well, educating Luke on their various strengths and weaknesses and the different ways he should approach each of them to gain the best possible result. She even began wining and dining them herself, launching one part of a pincer movement they'd never even see coming.

Lucinda was a formidable ally.

When Friday evening rolled around, the exhausted pair boarded their flight to Dallas - the jet was otherwise occupied, unfortunately, so they were travelling commercial, albeit first class - and Reid was so tired his usual nerves only made a brief appearance.

After take-off, when they were finally allowed to lean their seats back, they both immediately settled in for the duration of the flight - it wasn't the longest of journeys, but they wanted to grab any rest they could.

"Hey," Luke said quietly, who'd generously given Reid the aisle seat so he wouldn't feel so penned in.

Blinking open his eyes, Reid regarded him drowsily. "Hmm?"

Luke smiled at him sleepily. "Better."

Reid managed to form a frown. "What are you talking about?"

"You said it'd get better," he reminded, then shrugged happily. "You were right."

Not having the energy to make fun of Luke for his sentimentality, Reid yawned instead. "Get some rest. Gotta keep that kidney in working order, Mr Snyder."

Closing his eyes, Luke snuggled up against him. "Whatever you say, Dr Oliver."

Glancing down at Luke's head resting against his shoulder, Reid pressed his cheek against Luke's head - and slept.

*

They didn't see much of Dallas after landing, partly because night had already fallen and partly because they were both still exhausted. Slumped against each other in the back of a taxi, they watched lights streak by the window.

"Seems big," Luke commented quietly.

Reid smirked briefly. "That thing people say about everything being bigger in Texas?" Luke murmured a response. "It's true," he confirmed. At another time he definitely would've made some kind of suggestive remark, but he just couldn't be bothered. He resumed his mindless staring through the window, when it occurred to him what Luke's comment might imply. "Have you travelled outside Oakdale, besides the trips to Kentucky?"

"Sure," Luke replied, "Chicago loads of times. New York. Malta," he finished quietly.

Reid turned his head to look at Luke's face. "Bad Dad?"

Sitting up straighter, Luke shrugged. "First kidnapping attempt - wasn't actually Damian, though. They took me and Dad. I was so little I don't remember much of the detail - which is probably a good thing," he admitted, before his forehead formed a frown. "I do remember they kept us someplace dank and dark. I was terrified of the dark afterward - couldn't sleep without some kind of light source on in my room for years."

"Understandable," Reid replied on auto-pilot, even as his brain was trying to comprehend how Luke had managed to turn out to be the amazingly well-adjusted man he was.

Shaking his head at himself, he smiled wryly at Reid. "Sorry. Didn't mean to go on like that. Must really be tired," he finished, the end of his sentence turning into a yawn. "Yeah," he said afterward, "definitely tired."

Luke's yawn had, naturally, prompted one from Reid, and once his own yawn ended, he patted a hand against Luke's leg. "I know I tend to...make fun of the insane things that happen to the residents of Oakdale..."

"No, really?" Luke asked cheekily.

Reid nudged him lightly. "But I know a lot of it has had an...effect on you." Luke wouldn't be human if it didn't. "If you ever want to complain or bitch about it - I'm your guy."

Blinking sluggishly, a slow smile spread across Luke's face. "No one's ever said that to me before," he admitted. "Thank you."

Reid shrugged. "Sounds like it's beyond time someone did."

"That's true for you as well, you know," Luke said fondly, placing a hand gently on top of Reid's. "I know you're not a fan of discussing bad things that you've gone through..." he looked at him meaningfully, "...like your childhood."

Sighing, Reid shrugged. He should've known Luke would take the opportunity to try and delve into his past. "I don't want to waste time talking about it - it's not worth it. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't really a childhood, that's all."

Luke was sitting there, still looking all _understanding_ when the car finally - and thankfully - pulled up outside Reid's condo.

Luke tried to take his bag for him again, but Reid pointed out that it wasn't particularly heavy as he'd only brought his laptop with him - intending to get everything he needed from the condo - and that he needed to give his hands some exercise or they'd atrophy, something that would be disastrous to his career as a brilliant neurosurgeon.

Luke actually bought it, carrying only his own bag as Reid paid for the cab, then showed him into the building. It was strange coming back here after everything he'd been through. Not the coming back in general - he'd gone away for consultations dozens of times - but how much had changed, this time. How much he'd changed.

Shaking his head at himself for being so thoughtful over the subject, Reid led Luke up the familiar, well-lit stairs and through the locked condo door.

He'd called the cleaning service the previous day to make sure it would be as immaculate and dust-free as he liked it and as he flicked on the lights and glanced around, he could immediately see they'd done their job. He'd had them turn on the air conditioning, too. Closing and locking the door behind Luke, Reid placed his laptop bag on the side. "I'm exhausted. Bedroom's that way," he gestured towards it, "bathroom's just next door." He started walking towards the bedroom, already imagining his descent into a cool, comfortable bed. "There's no food," he'd had it all cleared out a while ago, "but you'll probably be able to dig out some coffee-"

"I'm fine," Luke told him and Reid realised from the proximity of his voice that Luke was following close behind.

Flicking on the bedroom light, Reid nodded his approval at the freshly changed sheets - also as requested; it paid to have money - then headed for the bathroom. "Make yourself at home."

Reid set about emptying his bladder, washing his hands and brushing his teeth - with a newly opened toothbrush, obviously. Luke joined him part way through the teeth brushing, wearing nothing but a pair of pyjama bottoms, clasping his own toothbrush in his hand.

"Not a word," he warned, nudging Reid to one side, squeezing a blob of toothpaste onto his brush and proceeding to make that stupid face as he brushed his teeth.

Reid really couldn't comprehend how no one had ever pointed out The Face before. He and Noah had even lived together, for crying out loud. Either they really had never seen each other at home, or this was the one area of Luke's life Noah was kind about. Really, of all the things he could've been kind about, it was dental hygiene?

Rinsing out his mouth, Reid spat out the water and placed his toothbrush in its holder, making sure it was facing left. Back in the bedroom, he turned off the overhead light, turning a lamp on instead and closing the curtains. Stripping out of his clothes, he folded them up neatly and placed them on of his chest of drawers.

Not long after he settled into bed, Luke stepped out of the bathroom, switching off the light and making his way to the other side of the bed.

"Wow," he remarked, settling in next to Reid, "this is a really comfortable bed."

"It's important that I sleep well," Reid explained, as he reached out and switched the lamp off. As the room plunged into darkness, they moved closer to each other instinctively.

"'Night," Luke mumbled, warm and sleepy against him.

"'Night," Reid replied softly.

Ten seconds later, he reached across and quietly turned the lamp back on.

*

The next morning they slept in luxuriously late. It was unusual for Reid, who only ever slept in late after eighteen-hour surgeries.

"Wow," he said, yawning and stretching in bed, "I rarely slept in this late even in college." He'd taken his studies too seriously to risk messing up his education.

Wiping at his eyes, Luke suddenly smiled devilishly, tugging the sheet away from Reid's body. "Let me show you something I _never_ did in college."

Luke proceeded to finger his ass and suck his cock for more than ten minutes, always backing off just as Reid was about to come. He was getting really fucking good at doing that and when he finally let Reid come it was all the more intense.

Laying on the bed afterward, boneless, Reid moaned. "You just sucked all the energy I'd gained right back out of me. Literally."

"Sorry," Luke replied happily, sitting up and looking anything but.

Reid gestured towards him. "Want me to-"

"Already taken care of," Luke interrupted with twinkling eyes, and Reid only then saw the come splattered across Luke's knuckles.

After sharing an extremely long shower where they spent an extremely long time kissing, they dried off, got dressed and went hunting for food. Reid's car was still in underground parking and once they climbed inside, Luke was fascinated, extremely curious about seemingly every aspect of Reid's car.

"What's with the inquisition?" he asked, pulling out of his parking space and pressing the clicker on his visor that opened the gate.

By now Luke was rummaging through the glove compartment. "Just want to know more about you, I guess. Trust me, I would've broken out the magnifying glass at your condo if I wasn't so hungry. Once we're back in there with a full stomach-"

"It can be guaranteed that you'll pull it apart in your quest to understand the mystery that is Reid Oliver?"

Pausing, Luke grinned at him. "You're not such a mystery. I know you pretty well already." That was true to disturbing levels. He pulled something out of the glove compartment. "It's the little details, like..." he glanced down, frowning. "Owner's manual? That's so...boring."

Reid shook his head, pressing his foot down on the gas, taking the car up the slope to street level. "This is a car," he reminded, "that is the book that tells me how to use it. Should they not be kept together?"

"That's not the point," Luke replied, shoving it back in and pulling something else out as Reid turned onto the street. "A receipt for...food. And lube. Interesting combination."

"A man's gotta keep himself amused when he's married to his work." It was bright out and Reid found himself squinting against the sun. "Are my sunglasses there?" A few moments later, they were held out towards him. "Thanks," he replied, slipping them on one-handed.

"Not anymore," Luke sing-songed in response to his original comment, putting the receipt back and closing the glove compartment with a loud thud. Reid ignored him, because any kind of acknowledgement could be twisted into confirmation. "Geez, I can feel that heat from the sun through my jeans already."

"The end of summer in Texas," Reid remarked, "you get used to it."

"I don't think so," he argued.

"Also: excellent air conditioning."

Luke grinned. "That's more like it."

Reid paused at the lights. "Seeing as it's lunchtime, what do you say to chilli?"

"Chilli?"

"Chilli," he confirmed, "and none of that wimpy-ass stuff you serve in Oakdale. I mean real chilli. Texas chilli."

"You're not even from Texas," Luke pointed out, "so I don't know why you're sounding so proud. And from what Henry tells me, you like the chilli and cornbread at _Al's_ just fine," he finished smugly.

That was disturbing. The light changed. Reid slowly accelerated. "You two have been talking about me?"

"Only after gym class," he teased. "I think it's cute that you have friends."

"I'm not even dignifying that with a response."

Luke simply pointed out that he just had and settled back in his seat. That didn't last long, though, because once they turned another corner the Dallas skyline came into view. He immediately leaned forward, barraging Reid with questions. He seemed to know his stuff, though, because they were all questions he knew the answers to.

"Is that Reunion Tower? Bank of America Plaza? Chase Tower?"

Reid glanced at him briefly, suspiciously. "Someone's been on the internet."

Luke shrugged, only looking vaguely embarrassed. "My knowledge of Dallas was not...vast. I decided to do something to change that."

"I approve," Reid nodded with admiration, then focused back on what was really important. "So, really - chilli?"

*

Lunch went down well, and Luke had certainly never experienced chilli that hot before, judging by his extremely obvious reactions. He made rookie mistakes, too - eating too much at once, guzzling down water uselessly when the chilli turned out to be too hot. Eventually Reid took pity on him and ordered Luke a glass of milk.

Being Luke, though, he seemed to genuinely enjoy the experience and insisted on paying for the meal. Reid wasn't about to say no.

Back in the car, Luke was sucking ferociously on the complimentary mint. Reid smirked to himself and started the car.

"Hey," Luke suddenly asked, "what are you going to do with your car?"

That was something he'd been thinking over himself. "I was half-thinking of just driving it to Oakdale."

"That's like - what? Seven, eight hundred miles?"

"Pretty much," Reid nodded. "But there's not really enough time this visit. Hell, with how close everything is in Oakdale, I probably won't need the car anyway." So far, there'd been few situations where he'd actually needed the use of a car. Although when they inevitably had to go out to the Snyder farm from time to time, he'd always have to rely on Luke for a ride. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing...

"I'd love to go on a road trip with you one day," Luke said, grinning at him; smile suddenly fading when his stomach made a loud, unpleasant noise. "Although maybe not just after we've eaten spicy chilli," he admitted, cracking the window. "Sorry," he murmured with embarrassment, glancing away.

Reid just smiled, following the familiar route to the Centre. "Guess the honeymoon's over," he joked. "I've never been on road trip just for the sake of it - any journeys I've taken were simply to get from one place to another. But it might be kind of...fun." Especially if Luke was there to keep him company. Although...wow, that was bad. Reid cracked his own window open, saying nothing, to hell with the air conditioning.

"So!" Luke said too-enthusiastically. "Where to now?"

"The Centre," Reid announced and as they slowly rolled to a stop at the next set of lights, he silently pressed the button to lower the window even further.

*

Luke spotted the Centre before Reid even started indicating for the turn.

"That's it, right?" he asked and when Reid shot him a quick, confused look, Luke shrugged. "Wikipedia."

Shaking his head, amused, Reid smoothly moved into the turning lane as he remembered something Luke had told him on the night they first had sex. "Hey, so when you did that stalking of me thing on the internet-"

"It wasn't stalking," he insisted, "I just wanted to know more about you."

Checking for traffic, Reid turned into the parking lot. "What did you find out?"

"Well, for starters, that the picture of you on the Centre website really doesn't do you justice."

Reid made a face as he headed towards the far side of the building - staff had assigned parking on the side that had the most shade. "I was forced into it," he complained, slowing the car to a crawl, remembering the frustrated photographer trying to coax a smile out of him while Reid ordered the guy to just take the damn photograph. When the finished photographs had come in, Susie had laughed her head off, insisting on personally putting Reid's up on the wall with the rest of the medical staff.

"A necessary evil," Luke teased, as Reid pulled into his space. "Oh my God," Luke suddenly continued, spotting something. The car had barely come to a stop when Luke unbuckled his seat belt and flung open the passenger door, jumping out. Confused, Reid put the handbrake on and killed the engine with a frown. By the time he was out of the car himself, locking the doors with the key fob, Luke was practically cackling.

"Oh my God," he said again between laughs, "you actually have your own little sign." He knelt down before the sign in question, while Reid tried to determine why this was in the least bit amusing. " _Reid Oliver, MD, Chief of Staff_ ," he read, still chuckling quietly. "I can't believe you have your own little sign."

"I can't believe you find it so entertaining," Reid retorted, scrutinising Luke closely. "Is this some weird, new side of you that I'm going to have to deal with? Multiple personalities?"

"Nah, I just found it funny," he grinned, standing up straight.

"Why?" He genuinely didn't understand, something that just didn't happen very often.

"I don't know," Luke shrugged, before attempting an explanation. "It's just...you have such a strong personality, you know? I guess it just seems weird that a guy who's so large in life has such a small sign designating his parking space."

How strange. "Why would I need a bigger sign? It's not like I have any shortcomings to make up for when it comes to penis size or my accomplishments in my professional - and now personal - lives."

"I know you don't," Luke agreed.

"Besides," he gestured towards the Centre. "I have a whole building. It kind of doesn't matter how big the sign is."

Luke shrugged, still smiling faintly. "I just found it funny," he shrugged, like there was no further explanation needed.

Reid still didn't get it - but then maybe he didn't have to. It'd made Luke laugh, made Luke happy, and wasn't that all that really mattered?

Ugh, he needed some coffee.

Suddenly blowing a breath out through his mouth, Luke reached behind himself and tugged his t-shirt away from his skin. "Geez, I can't believe how hot it is even in the shade."

"That's your punishment for making fun of the size of my sign," Reid informed him stoically, gaining an eye-roll from Luke in response as headed towards the entrance. The sun was incredibly bright as they rounded the corner and Reid was thankful as hell he'd put his sunglasses back on when they'd left the restaurant. He'd gotten so used to Oakdale - and there was a sentence he'd never thought he'd think - that he'd almost forgotten how blindingly bright it could get in summer in Dallas.

Luke quickly followed, raising a hand to block the sun. "You were right about staying in Oakdale. About me staying, I mean."

"Of course I was," Reid agreed. "Why?"

"If it's like this all the time, I'd never get used to this sun. Or heat."

"Of course it's not like this all the time," Reid shook his head even as he gratefully stepped through the automatic doors into air-conditioned bliss. "Don't tell me in Oakdale that summer lasts for eight out of twelve months."

"Not quite," he responded warmly, then made an appreciative noise. "Ohhhh, _air conditioning_. That is so much better."

With a quirk in his lips, Reid tugged his sunglasses off and hooked them over the front of his shirt, striding past the main desk. "Marcie," he acknowledged.

Glancing up, Marcie fumbled with the stapler she'd been in the process of using. "Dr _Oliver!_ "

Yeah, Reid hadn't told anyone he was coming for one reason: fun. Life was short - too short, sometimes - and you had to get your kicks wherever you could. So, yes, Reid was gleefully amused watching the reactions from various members of staff as they saw him, recognised him, and reacted. Mostly it was just complete surprise, a few times it was fear; a few times they even looked genuinely glad to see him.

Luke stared around at everything they passed with avid interest. "I'll give you a real tour later," Reid promised and had nearly reached his old office when Sutherland stepped into view. From the lack of shock on his face, news had plainly reached him of Reid's arrival already.

A tall, thin man, Ben seemed to have greyed dramatically at the temples since Reid had last been here. "Reid," he greeted somewhat desperately.

"Ben," he acknowledged, then gestured towards Luke. "Luke Snyder, Dr Ben Sutherland. My number two. Well," he re-considered, "number one at the moment."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you," Luke said politely, holding his hand out and obviously trying to make a good impression.

"Sure, sure, you too," Ben responded, briefly shaking Luke's hand but not taking his eyes off Reid. "Please tell me this means you're back."

He glanced at Luke. "Not exactly," he replied, just as the door to his office opened and Susie stepped out. Spotting him immediately, she glared at him and ended the call she was having on her cell phone.

"Not even me," she complained, striding towards the group, "you didn't even tell _me_ you were coming."

"Less drama that way," he shrugged, then nodded towards Luke. "Luke Snyder, Susie Cole."

Brightening considerably, Susie smiled genuinely. "Oh, hi! It's so great to finally meet you!"

"You too," Luke replied just as brightly, extending a hand - a fatal mistake, because Susie latched onto it with her own, tugging him back towards Reid's office. "Um, excuse me?" Luke queried, confused, even as he let himself be tugged along.

"We need to talk," Susie declared, leading him into the office. "Don't worry, you'll be returned unharmed."

Luke turned desperately back towards Reid, clearly searching for help; maybe even rescue. Reid simply waved at him - mostly to make fun of him, but also to assure him that, no, he really wasn't being kidnapped a third time. After the door shut firmly behind them, Reid and Ben turned to look at each other.

Ben sighed. "My office?"

*

Unsurprisingly, considering the fresh smattering of wrinkles that'd carved themselves into Ben's crows feet, he was downright thrilled at the thought of Susie taking over, asking if she'd be able to start immediately. Reid had to dash his hopes, seeing as she hadn't given him an answer yet, but at least Ben hadn't thought it a completely insane idea. He thought the rest of top tier would be behind it, too, although he agreed with the assessment that it may take some time for them to get over their own preconceptions about not having an actual doctor in charge of the facility.

He did also seem genuinely dismayed - if not exactly upset - that Reid was intending to stay permanently in Oakdale. The two of them had never been and would never be friends; they'd both always existed for the job, and they'd shared a healthy respect for each others respective careers and skills. In the same way that Reid regretted not working with someone of Ben's talent, Ben voiced his personal displeasure at not being able to work with Reid anymore - or at least not directly.

As for the new neuro-wing, Ben thought it sounded brilliant and risky ("Perfect for you, Reid.") and, eager to be involved in another cutting-edge facility that helped sick and injured patients, he pledged to support the project in any way he could - short of actually relocating from Dallas. He offered thoughts, opinions, suggestions - some of them really quite good - then agreed to quietly start working on getting the staff used to the idea of having Susie as a potential new boss.

Pleased at the productive meeting, Reid started feeling less pleased when he returned to his office and heard the distinctive sound of laughter ringing from the other side of the door. Bracing himself - God, they were clearly _bonding_ or something; he'd known this was a bad idea, but also an inevitability he couldn't escape - he pushed open the door. Luke and Susie were sitting at the same side of her desk, laughing over something so evil, Reid probably couldn't even conceive of it.

"And then," Luke said after he'd caught his breath, " _then_ , after _Cyndi Lauper_ got us back together, _then_ he told me he'd enlisted - without discussing it with me at all - and that he just _expected me to wait for him_ until his three years were up."

"I cannot believe it," Susie said, shaking her head emphatically, "I literally cannot believe it. Amazing as it sounds, I think Reid actually _is_ a step up."

Reid knew better. He totally wasn't falling for it. "I know perfectly well that you know I'm standing here."

"Well, duh," she teased, turning her head to wink at him.

Luke grinned at him too, getting to his feet and almost bouncing towards him. "It was all her idea."

"Turncoat," Susie complained, standing up herself.

Luke ignored her. Plainly, they'd found a system of friendship already - and it didn't seem entirely different to Reid's relationship with her. "She said we should ignore you when you come in. That your head was so big the insult wouldn't even make a dent." Yeah, that sounded like her. Pausing just before Reid, Luke grinned stupidly. "Hi."

The phone on Susie's desk rang and she immediately made a grab for it, walking around to the other side of the desk. "Susie Cole speaking."

As she dealt with whoever was on the other end of the phone, Reid nudged Luke lightly, nodding towards Susie. "So?"

"I can see why you're friends," he smiled gently, "and I really like her, too."

When the phone call finished, Susie suggested that she and Reid give Luke the official tour of the Centre. Luke jumped at the chance and practically barrelled out of the room.

"He's adorable," she said to Reid as they quietly left the office, closing the door behind them. "Yet also capable of being a complete bitch. I see why you like him," she acknowledged, "and I don't just mean his extremely good looks."

"I'd prefer not to know that you find him attractive," Reid pointed out, "it messes with my view of the universe."

"Fair enough," she shrugged. "I mean it, though. He seems a good fit for you. At first glance he seems like some small-town, All-American Boy, when he's really anything but. He's more than capable of keeping up with you."

"You should see him in a suit," Reid replied proudly, "you'd never think he was small-town anything."

"Aww, listen to you getting all cute about your boyfriend," she teased.

"At least it's not you prattling on about whatshisface."

Between walking, teasing each other and showing Luke around, he quietly told Susie his plans for _Memorial_. She didn't seem hugely surprised and confessed that she'd suspected he'd have to find some other way of keeping himself busy in small town like Oakdale - one of the reasons she'd been hesitating about taking the Chief of Staff job. She'd been concerned that after a few months he'd become so bored with small town life that he'd come back to Dallas permanently, with Luke in tow.

"Yeah," he said quietly, watching as Luke insisted on finding their location on the map on the wall without any assistance whatsoever, "that's not happening."

The tour took a surprising turn when they walked past a patient room and Reid recognised the little girl sitting up in bed, drawing on the paper sprawled across her bed tray. He looked at Susie.

She smiled gently. "She's been here five days."

"You should've told me."

"To what end?" Susie asked rhetorically. "She's not your patient anymore. The surgery went fine."

Luke watched their interaction with interest. "Who is she?"

"That's Becca," Susie said, and as she explained the reasons behind Becca being there at all, Reid walked into her room.

"Well, if it isn't Becca Fry."

Looking up, Becca paused her scribbling as her face brightened - then just as quickly turned into a glare. "Dr Oliver, I've been here for _five whole days._ Where have you _been?_ " And just like that, Reid realised why he liked Natalie - she reminded him of Becca, determined and feisty, even with brain surgery just days behind her and her head wrapped in bandages.

Stepping closer to the bed, Reid spied the sunglasses resting on the chair. The mother was nearby; probably getting something to drink.

"Sorry I haven't been around, kiddo. I've been doing some...extremely important things." Picking up her chart from the end of the bed, Reid flicked through the information there, nodding approvingly. Susie was right - it did look good.

Clearly not impressed with his response, Becca actually harrumphed. "What could _possibly_ be more important?"

Barely hiding his smile, Reid replaced the chart and rested against the edge of the bed. Glancing at a picture on the wall - obviously one of her own of a fairytale princess and her handsome prince, set against the backdrop of a purple castle - Reid decided, for once, to voice it in terms a little more politically correct. "You know how you've always told me about wanting to find your Prince Charming? How brave and brilliant and handsome he'd be?" With how fast kids seemed to grow up these days, it still amazed him that kids like Becca even existed anymore.

"Of _course_ ," she sighed dreamily.

"Well," he shrugged, hating himself even as he said it, but knowing it'd plant a silly smile across her face for hours, "turns out that I finally found mine."

*

During the drive from the Centre, Luke remained suspiciously quiet. When Reid had left Becca's room - after pledging to live Happily Ever After, regardless of any evil witches or warlocks who may kidnap his Prince Charming (she was eerily on target with her assessment of Luke's life) - Luke had certainly been grinning foolishly enough, but had yet to say anything about Reid's so-called fairytale.

He had, however, said that he was fine with going to the bar and the two of them had made plans to meet Susie there later that evening - although she'd had great fun in doing so, 'hilariously' asking if Luke was old enough to drink.

Neither one of them had found it particularly amusing.

Now, however, as they drove along, Reid couldn't help but be incredibly aware that Luke hadn't quizzed him mercilessly about Becca - which only made him wonder all the more about exactly what Susie had told him.

Deciding not to tempt fate, look a gift horse in the mouth and various other sayings, Reid focused on what to do next. "So, you have a choice," he told Luke, "play tourist today and furniture tomorrow, or furniture today and play tourist tomorrow?"

"Furniture?" Luke queried.

"You've gotta help me decide what to keep and what to give to charity," he explained, "there's no way all of the furniture will fit into the new apartment." Though a respectable size and suitable to Reid's needs, the apartment was considerably smaller to the condo. Oakdale had much less available space in general than Dallas, so he supposed it made sense.

"Furniture," Luke announced decisively and at first Reid was surprised - having never been to Dallas before, Reid would've thought Luke would've wanted to explore the city. Then he remembered what Luke had said earlier and realised that for Luke, it was more interesting not to explore Dallas, but to explore Reid's psyche instead.

Condo it was.

They stopped off on the way to pick up drinks, snacks, condoms and lube - then set to work.

Deciding exactly what to keep frequently ended in disagreement - usually between aesthetics and practically. It almost became a game in the end, the two of them deliberately taunting each other until one of them shoved the other up against the piece of furniture in question and ended up giving it a thorough test of its sturdiness. In the end, that was usually the prime factor in deciding if he kept it or not.

As for smaller belongings, Reid didn't have much in the way of knick knacks or keepsakes. For one, he didn't care for clutter or distraction in his living space and - before Luke, at least - he'd rarely been a sentimental man. Generally, he didn't keep _things_ or mementoes of important occasions or people. There were exceptions, of course, and, once they'd finished selecting the furniture and moved onto the smaller pieces of Reid's life, it didn't take Luke long to find them.

"Is this a photo album?" Luke asked, sliding the object in question from a shelf.

"More like a photo file," Reid argued. He'd never kept many photos, either - but these ones were important.

Settling himself onto the sofa, Luke frowned as he opened the file and flicked through the few plastic wallets inside. Resigning himself to the inevitable, Reid threw himself down next to Luke with a sigh.

"I don't get it," Luke said, flicking back to the start, and Reid could understand his confusion. It was undoubtedly like no other personal collection of photographs that anyone else kept - except perhaps other doctors.

"Those are the important ones," Reid explained.

"Important what?" Luke queried, still flicking back and forth between what were mostly shots of individual people.

"Patients I lost," he said. And he knew that sounded bad, like some patients were 'better' than others - but it was the truth. No matter who were you, how professional you tried to be, there were always patients who got to you more than others; got under your skin. Something about them, their personalities, made them more memorable and therefore all the more upsetting when they died. He defied any doctor not to have experienced it.

Pausing suddenly, mid-flick, Luke looked up to stare at him. After a few moments he relaxed his body and calmly flicked back to the first plastic wallet, slowly smoothing a hand down it. "Tell me about them," he said simply.

And Reid did. He found himself talking about John Harvey and his fascination with the first World War. About Andrea Foster and the way she always snorted when she laughed - and she laughed, often. The list went on - Caroline and her romance novels, Bill never managing to get to grips with his laptop, Dean asking Reid if it was even worth proposing to his girlfriend - and then there was Annie.

Annie Judd. Seven years old. Not the first child he'd treated by a long shot, but the first one that broke his heart when she died.

Luke had long since moved, placing the folder aside as he'd turned towards Reid, tugging him towards him until they were at one end of the sofa together, Reid resting against Luke, his back to Luke's chest. Quite frankly it was easier that way, not having to look Luke in the fact as he spilled his guts.

"Annie Judd. _The Judd Neurology Centre_?" he asked quietly, one arm wrapped around Reid's side; the other hand absently carding through Reid's hair.

He nodded slowly. "She was so brave. Stupidly so, sometimes," he snorted, remembering her constant optimism. "And I was putting her through so much pain with the chemo and the treatment, but she was always happy to see me. Always." Reid shrugged, still remembering the shock of that feeling. "No one ever smiled when I walked into the room, but she did." It'd felt remarkable - and it was something she and Luke had in common.

"Susie told me that children - and young girls in particular - always got to you more than the others," Luke said quietly. "She didn't say why."

So _that_ was what she'd told him. She was right in saying that, though - and it was because of Annie. Ever since then, any young girl he'd had to treat reminded Reid of Annie in one way or another - age, face, hair, spirit. It was like she was there all over again and Reid was going to do whatever it took to make sure he didn't fail her this time.

He knew it was ridiculous. He knew Annie was already gone. He knew he should be logical and emotionally removed from the situation.

It didn't stop him from feeling that way.

"I'm sorry," Luke said suddenly, surprising him, "for keeping you in Oakdale. I mean, I...I know you've made it clear it's what you want, but to be honest I hadn't seriously considered the fact that you'd be leaving patients behind - let alone patients who could end up meaning so much to you. I've been so selfish when it comes to you."

"Please," he retorted, "if you have any selfishness in your body at all, it's about the size of your pinky finger. It's my choice," Reid assured him, "and I stick by it. I'd make it again."

Making a soft noise, Luke moved his hand down to Reid's chin, gently tipping his face back. Reid went with it, stretching his body up to meet Luke in a brief kiss. When he settled back down again, Luke hummed gently.

"So, _The Judd Neurology Centre_?" Luke asked. "Her parents must've loved you."

That was so far from the truth it was practically laughable. "More like hated my guts. The father did, anyway. The mother died in a car crash two years earlier." Luke made a sympathetic sound. "I was able to give Annie a year of life she wouldn't have had otherwise, but her father..." he sighed, shrugging. He still couldn't find it in him to hate the man. "When she died, he needed someone to blame. He didn't have any other family left, so when Annie died..."

"He was all alone," Luke said sadly.

That was something Reid could relate to. "And he gave me quite the shiner," he told Luke, a hand coming up to the eye in question at the memory. "Hell, I wanted to give myself a shiner for not being able to save her. The Great Doctor Oliver, with this shiny, new, state of the art neurology centre already on the way, couldn't save a little girl from a growth in her brain."

"Hey, remember what I said before about you not being perfect?" Luke asked rhetorically. "It still stands."

"That doesn't matter."

"It does, Reid. Being who you are, yeah, it makes total sense to me that you'd hold yourself to ridiculously high standards. But I also know that if you couldn't save her, no one could."

Reid sighed. "Is that actually supposed to make me feel better? Because it isn't working."

"Of course it isn't," Luke continued, "you're insisting on blaming yourself for something that wasn't your fault."

Reid actually let out a bark of laughter. Pulling away from Luke, he sat up and turned to face him. "Are you kidding me? Did those words actually come out of _your_ mouth? You of all people?"

Luke at least had enough awareness to look a little chagrined. "Okay, then we're both guilty of doing that," he insisted, sitting forward, "and it's something we both need to work on. Deal?"

God, now there was more _working on himself_ to be done. "You know you're doing that cliché couple thing, right?"

"I am?" Luke frowned.

"Yeah, trying to change me. Can't you just love me for who I am?" he joked, although even as he said it he knew there was a thread of truth to it.

Luke didn't find it funny. "Well, it's not like I'm the only one. How many times have you encouraged me to improve myself, telling me stand up for myself, not let anyone - including you - walk all over me? Hell, we probably wouldn't be here now if you hadn't."

"But that wasn't for me," Reid argued, "that was for _you_."

"So is what I'm doing!" Luke insisted. "I already love you, Reid - that's a done deal, and I wouldn't change it for the world. I already love you and love who you are. I'm not trying to change you for me, I guess..." he shrugged, "...I see how sad things can make you, sometimes, and I don't want you to be sad. If you can find a way to deal with certain things, so they won't upset you as much - or at all - then that's better for _you_. It's not about me."

Christ, they were quite the pair. "But you can't change the fact that I had demanding, distant parents, any more than I can change the fact that you've got a completely screwed up family tree, including a one-man crime wave for a father."

Luke shook his head, a small smile beginning to appear on his face. "And you can't change the fact that I'm an alcoholic who's already lost a kidney, any more than I can change the fact that you're going to lose patients you care about. So, really," he added, "we're the couple from _The Gift of the Magi_ , right?"

Reid was so surprised he broke out into laughter. "Trust you to make a literary reference."

"It's a classic!" he defended, then shifted closer to Reid. He sighed, tipping his head to one side. "I guess we've both been doing these kinds of things without really discussing them with each other, first. How about, from now on-"

"-we stop trying to change each other? Even if we think it'll help?" Reid finished. Luke nodded. "Deal." Reaching out a hand, Reid cupped the back of Luke's head, pulling him in until they were nose to nose. He closed his eyes. "Promise me you'll never chop off your stupid hair."

Luke chuckled, hands coming up to Reid's shoulders. "How come I'm the girl?"

*

Being a Saturday night, the bar was busier than Reid liked it and he automatically reached up a hand, tugging at the neck of his shirt. Susie was already seated at the bar and started waving enthusiastically when she saw them.

"Hey, guys! Over here!"

Luke waved back and practically ran over to her, the two of them sharing a suspiciously friendly hug. They were already talking rapidly to each other by the time Reid reached them, and he rolled his eyes, ordering a drink.

"What do you guys want?"

"I'm fine," Susie lifted up her full glass.

"Coke, please," Luke smiled.

Reid nodded. "Actual Coca Cola, or another type of soda?"

Luke just frowned at him. "What?"

Reid shook his head. "Never mind. It's a Texas thing." He'd just turned back towards the bar when he heard Luke exclaim,

"Oh my God, there's a mechanical bull!"

He didn't even need to look, so didn't. "He's going over to it, isn't he?"

"Oh, yes," Susie retorted, perched on stool, drink in hand. "It's crowded, though, so he'll probably be waiting a while."

Drinks ordered and paid for, Reid sat on the stool next to hers and looked towards the bull. Luke was indeed standing a few people away, grinning hugely as he watched an overweight guy in a cowboy hat cling on for dear life. The guy did seem to be enjoying himself, though. "He'll probably be pretty good at this," Reid admitted, "he's had some experience."

"I think I'll wisely make no comment on that one," Susie grinned, bringing her drink up to her lips.

Rolling his eyes, Reid elbowed her lightly. "Not _that_ ," he pointed out, "although he certainly has had enough experience with that by now, too," he winked. "He grew up around horses."

Susie mulled over his words. "A horse is considerably different to a mechanical bull."

Reid shrugged, convinced Luke would do well. He and Susie waited together, the two of them sipping drinks and exchanging words, usually commenting on the abilities of whoever was currently riding - or attempting to ride - the bull. Nobody lasted particularly long, so within a little under five minutes, Luke was climbing on.

"You should see your face," Susie grinned.

"Apart from being devastatingly handsome, what about it?" Reid asked, not tearing his eyes away from Luke, his free hand absently reaching towards the pocket in his jeans that held his cell phone.

"L. O. V. E. That's all I'm saying. Besides," she continued, "how many times have you told me that only an idiot would get on that thing, what with the risk of ligament damage, not to mention any other potential injuries should you come flying off-"

"Yes, yes, you're right about everything," Reid said just to shut her up, tugging his phone out. The bull had started moving slowly, Luke moving with it easily, even raising one hand as he held on, grandstanding a little. Reid snapped a picture, shrugging when he saw Susie staring at him. "Yeah, the sentimentality is an adjustment for me, too." Putting his phone away, he took a gulp of his drink. The bull had clearly been put onto a higher setting, Luke now clinging on with both hands, thighs clamped around the 'body'. He came off eventually, of course, though he'd managed to stay on considerably longer than most of his predecessors.

Reid admitted to being concerned when Luke vanished from view, even going so far as to stand up from the stool, but when Luke suddenly popped back into view, standing up to a large round of applause, Reid shook his head and sat back down with an amused smile.

"And that," Luke said as he returned, grinning hugely as he brushed pretend lint from his shoulder, "is how it's done. Is this mine?" he asked, gesturing towards the drink. Reid nodded and Luke grabbed it, taking a huge gulp. "I needed that," he said afterward, putting the drink back on the bar and stepping close to Reid's other side. "It's a shame you can't go on it. Maybe we can come back for a visit when your hands are better." Reid opened his mouth to retort that it was highly debatable that he'd _ever_ get on that thing, when Luke leaned in close and murmured, "I'd really like to see if you can ride that thing as well as you ride me."

Reid was so surprised he literally fumbled his glass, narrowly avoiding dumping the contents in his lap. "Wow," he said, turning his head towards Luke, "bull-riding makes you hot." This was good to know.

"Can it, cowboys," Susie warned, nodding towards the population at large, "it's not exactly a pride festival in here."

Knowing Susie had a point, they shared a regretful look as Luke stepped a little further back. Not long after that, they saw a booth clear out and they quickly staked their claim on it, Reid sitting between the two of them, Luke casually resting a hand on Reid's thigh, out of sight.

It was a good evening. They talked, laughed and made fun of each other. Luke told some more stories about Oakdale and Susie told stories about Reid - including informing Luke of the picture he'd taken earlier (this resulted in a brief tussle between Reid and Luke for the phone, neither one of them emerging as the winner when Susie had to remind them - again - that it probably wasn't the best place for two guys to openly grope each other).

As the evening wound down, an obviously tipsy Susie planted an elbow on the table and her chin on her palm, watching them as Reid munched on some nachos. Luke eyed him up with a small smile, tugging the plate away from him. Sighing dramatically, Reid let it go. As Luke chewed happily on the chips, Susie spoke.

"You're really not coming back."

Surprised at the comment seemingly coming out of nowhere, Reid blinked, then shrugged. "No."

Nodding slowly, Susie seemed a little sad before sitting up straight and looking Reid in the eye. "I'll do it," she told him, "I'll take the job."

*

Sunday morning - after a night of their own kind of bull-riding - was spent sight-seeing. Due to their tight schedule they couldn't really stop and look at much for very long, so Reid mostly just drove past and pointed out areas of interest. He did, however, make a point of stopping at the JFK Memorial. He knew he'd made the right call when Luke stood there for a long time, staring sombrely at the white walls.

"I always kind of wished I'd already been born when he was President," Luke said quietly.

"Why?" Reid asked, watching a mother bend down and point out the small plinth to her son.

"I know he was a hugely flawed man, but from everything I've read and seen, he really seemed to bring everyone together, you know? None of the Presidents in my lifetime have ever achieved that. It'd be nice to experience."

"He still had his detractors," Reid pointed out, "and it wasn't all daisies and sunshine; it just seems that way looking back on it. I think most of the reason he's remembered so favourably is because of the way he died. It's a lot easier to look back on someone with fondness when they're gone."

"Huh," Luke said contemplatively, then shook his head, turned around and quietly stepped out through the gap, presumably heading back to the car. They were in the middle of Downtown, and had quite a trek to make.

"What?" Reid asked, jogging after him.

"Nothing," Luke insisted but when Reid kept staring at him, he relented. "I was about to point out that when I think back about Noah, it's the complete opposite - and then I realised I was comparing my failed relationship with an assassinated President and I really need to get my priorities in order." He flushed a little, looking away.

Reid didn't even try to hide his smirk. "You know, it's just as well you weren't around in the sixties."

"Why?"

" _I_ wasn't even alive then. You'd be the older man."

"And then you'd be the one to benefit from my years of experience," Luke grinned. "Think you could cope with being the younger man?"

There was something he'd never had to consider with Luke - but there was only one answer. "Luke, if I can deal with Oakdale? I can deal with anything."

*

Susie had agreed to look after Reid's car - i.e., keep it off the road until Luke and Reid actually had time to do the road trip thing - so when they were done, they drove the car to her house. Reid pressed on the horn as he pulled up by the curb, put the handbrake on and killed the engine. By the time they climbed out of the car, Susie had opened her front door and was stepping down from the porch, smiling. _He_ wasn't far behind her.

Slamming the door shut, Reid advanced towards Susie, holding out his car keys. "If it so much as loses a single flake of paint-"

"I'll miss you, too," she replied, snatching the keys out of his hands. Reid glared at her. She smiled brightly.

 _He_ came walking towards them, a hand held out towards Luke. "Hi, you must be Luke. I'm Hugh." Reid snorted. "Hughbert," he corrected, rolling his eyes at Reid. "Reid seems to think my name is stupid, but that I'm living a lie if I don't use it in full. I can't win."

"He's extremely hard to please," Luke acknowledged, not seeming to care if that offended Reid at all, shaking Hughbert's hand. "Nice to meet you, too. Thanks for doing this for Reid," he addressed both of them, smiling.

"It's not a problem," Susie assured him, then turned her attention to Reid. "I think the new job will be compensation enough."

"Yeah, Reid," Hughbert began awkwardly, "I've been meaning to thank-"

Oh hell, no. "We can't stay. Have to get everything packed up before our flight tonight. So..."

Tipping her head, Susie regarded him knowingly. Giving him what he needed though, for once she didn't press it. Instead she leant in, pulling him into a hug.

Reid didn't know what the hell to do with himself. Susie had certainly never _hugged_ him before. "Um..."

"We'll talk," she told him when she pulled back, blinking her suspiciously moist eyes clear.

Reid was feeling suspiciously _emotional_ himself. For five years, she'd been the one person he could truly rely on - on both a professional and a personal level. "Yeah," he said, finding it hard to speak, "I guess we will."

The cab he'd ordered on the way arrived a few minutes later, and Luke didn't say anything during the entire drive back to the condo. He just sat next to Reid, gently holding his hand.

Once they were back in the condo, Luke dragged Reid's suitcase out from the back of the closet, and they set about filling it with things Reid wanted to keep.

"Oh, look," Luke announced, going through the shirts hanging in Reid's closet, "a purple shirt. Another purple shirt. And, oh! Another purple shirt."

Reid looked down at the purple shirt he was wearing. "I cannot imagine what point you're trying to make."

"Variety, Reid!" Luke enthused. "Try it sometime."

"You'd prefer lime green?" he questioned, placing some of his favourite reads in the suitcase.

"You'd probably be able to pull it off," Luke grinned as he started removing shirts from hangers and neatly folding them up.

Watching Luke work, Reid decided he probably had a point. "Just put one of them in," he told him, "we need to save space."

"Sure you do," Luke grinned, abandoning the rest of the shirts as requested, reaching up to the shelf at the top of the closet to pull down an old shoe box.

Reid knew what it was immediately. "I definitely want that," he said and watched as Luke, intrigued, tugged the lid of the box off. It took him no time at all to figure out what the contents were.

"Your grandfather?" he asked hesitantly, glancing up at Reid.

Chucking the last book into the suitcase, Reid made his way around the bed, smiling fondly as he reached into the box. Lifting the boxing gloves out of the way - his own, he hadn't been able to keep his grandfather's, despite trying - he pulled the two photographs out. Placing the box to one side, Luke sat down on the edge of the bed, encouraging Reid to sit next to him.

Carefully taking the photograph that Reid held out towards him - it was Reid aged 12, suited and booted and ready to box - Luke turned it the right way and chuckled as he studied it. "Wow, you were hot even as jailbait. It's just as well I wasn't the older man," he leered jokingly before focusing back on the picture. "Look at your skinny legs! They haven't changed much," he teased.

Shaking his head at Luke's antics, Reid handed over the second picture - he and Grandfather at the gym, arms around each other, smiling broadly. Smiling fondly as he looked at it, Luke eventually looked back up at Reid. "You rarely smile like that," he said softly, "I'm glad he could do that for you."

Still surprised as he was sometimes by Luke's generosity of spirit - and that he even thought that kind of crap - Reid reached up and touched the side of his face, searching his eyes. "I have you, now."

Luke visibly melted, placing the photos back in the box and tugging Reid towards him. They kissed deeply, meaningfully and in the end they didn't even take their shirts off, just lowered their pants as much as was necessary as Reid's hand fumbled around inside the drawer in the bedside table, where they'd stashed supplies the day before.

Luke turned onto his front and Reid fucked him over the side of the bed, his restricted legs a frustration and a turn-on at the same time. Luke scrabbled for purchase, unable to spread his own legs to any real degree and _Christ_ he was tight, so fucking tight as Reid thrust and thrust and thrust, mouthing Luke's neck and losing himself completely.

Later, when they were lying across the bed facing each other again, Luke reached up and kissed him lazily. "I love you, you know."

Pressing his forehead against Luke's, Reid closed his eyes. "I know."

*

Dusk was only just starting to fall by the time they landed back in Oakdale. When they opened the door and set foot into the apartment, they found Katie and Brad huddled together on the sofa, sharing popcorn as they watched a movie.

"You're back!" Katie announced, getting to her feet.

"Stay where you are," Reid insisted, carrying his laptop as Luke carried his own overnight bag and tugged the large suitcase in behind them, "it's been a long weekend and we're going straight to bed." He really didn't feel up to dealing with Katie tonight. He was actually quite fond of her, but sometimes she was just too _much_.

"Oh, well," Katie began, obviously disappointed. "Okay, then," she sank back down next to Brad, who wrapped a comforting arm around her.

"We'll tell you everything tomorrow," Luke assured her, obviously having more kindness in him than Reid did. "We really just need some sleep."

Once they - and the suitcase - were in Reid's room, they carefully dumped everything and collapsed onto the bed. Reid didn't even want to go back out to brush his teeth.

"You okay?" Luke queried carefully, shifting until he'd propped his head up on one hand, peering down at Reid thoughtfully.

"Just tired," Reid insisted, closing his eyes and bringing a finger and thumb up to rub at the bridge of his nose.

Luke made a noise that sounded like he knew better, and - well. It wouldn't surprise Reid if he did. Luke then decided to prove Reid's point. "You'll speak to her all the time," he encouraged, "and it's not like Dallas is a million miles away."

"No, it's not," Reid conceded. "But my hands will be better soon, which means I'll be on-call day or night _and_ involved with the design and construction of the new neuro-wing - presuming it gets the green light. And she'll be transitioning into her new role as Chief of Staff at the Centre. Neither one of us will have much time for our partners," he acknowledged, opening his eyes to see Luke's face, "never mind finding time for our best friends."

Making a sad face, Luke reached out and petted Reid's hair. "The price of success, I guess." Sighing, he slid his hand down to Reid's chest. "At least we have an advantage." When Reid frowned, Luke smiled softly. "We'll be working together, remember? We'll see each other all the time at work."

"It's not the same," Reid argued, his hand coming up to rest against Luke's.

"No," Luke nodded, agreeing. "If we want to be taken seriously, we'll have to be strictly professional at the hospital."

"No quickies in the storage cupboard?"

Luke made a face. "And risk Casey finding us? No, thanks."

"We'd probably teach him and Nurse Stewart a thing or two."

Luke snorted. "You'd be surprised," he murmured, then seemed to realise what he'd just said, quickly rolling away and standing up. "Boy, am I beat."

Luke was the worst liar on the face of the planet. Reid moved after him, standing up and blocking the exit. "What was that about?"

"What?" Luke asked with faux-innocence and too-wide eyes. Reid just looked at him. Crumbling, Luke sighed heavily and brought his hands up to his face. "You cannot _ever_ mention this. _Especially_ to Allison."

Now he really wanted to know. "I won't."

"Reid, I've heard the way you moan about her and if she ever does something to really annoy you...I mean, even more than usual-"

"I won't. I'll even promise," Reid insisted. "You know I'm a man of my word."

Lowering his hands, Luke looked at him awkwardly, before saying, just as awkwardly, "Alison made some porn movies." Wow. _Wow._ Now he could see why Luke had insisted he never mention it. "It's not something she enjoyed or was proud of. But she was addicted to drugs at the time and-"

"It brought in money," Reid finished quietly.

Luke nodded sombrely. "Yeah."

Shaking his head, Reid sat on the edge of the bed. "Does _anyone_ in this town have a normal life?"

Sitting next to him, Luke shrugged. "I guess not. Casey ended up in prison after getting addicted to gambling. You already know all about me and Noah."

"Not everything," Reid pointed out, remembering something he'd heard yesterday, "was that crap about Cyndi Lauper actually true?"

"Uh, yeah," Luke admitted with an embarrassed shrug, "it actually was."

Reid shook his head. Unbelievable for so many reasons - one of them being that any kind of celebrity would have even heard of Oakdale, never mind visited the town. And then there was the second, more important, reason. "He really enlisted."

"He left town and everything," Luke shrugged. "I even went after him, tried to talk some sense into him."

"And that little thing of Don't Ask, Don't Tell?"

"He just wasn't going to tell," he shook his head sadly. "I was so upset at the time; he wouldn't listen to anything I had to say. All that mattered was what he wanted. Thank God I got lucky and traded up," he tried to joke, but the humour fell flat.

As far as Luke had come, every now and then it still became apparent just how much Noah had hurt him. Wrapping an arm around him, Reid tugged Luke in close. Luke mimicked the movement, wrapping his own arm around Reid until they were leaning against each other.

"If anyone's the lucky one around here," Reid turned his head towards Luke's, pressing a kiss against the side of his head, remembering the quiet support offered in the back of the cab in Dallas, "it's me."

*

Monday morning it was back to the grind, and back to putting together a presentation to convince the board that the neuro-wing would be a brilliant idea for the hospital and would generate jobs, revenue and much-needed publicity for the area.

And truthfully, with something challenging and exciting to focus on in his professional life, as well as something challenging and exciting in his personal life, even Reid was beginning to realise that he'd never been so all-consumingly _happy_ before.

Tired, but happy.

Luke expressed similar sentiments on the matter frequently, enthusing at great length about how he'd never thought this would be the kind of thing he'd be good at or feel comfortable doing, but that it all made so much _sense_ now that he was doing it.

Wednesday afternoon, Reid had just stepped foot out of a patient's room when Lucinda appeared before him.

"Reid."

He paused. "Mrs Walsh."

She nodded tightly. "Have you taken lunch, yet?"

"No."

"Excellent," she drawled, "join me."

Reid gestured around. "I'm swamped at the moment. I can't really afford to go off-site-"

"I said nothing about leaving the hospital," she informed him, then turned away and walked straight towards the hospital cafeteria. Reid could only follow, feeling a little stunned as she picked up her own tray and dutifully joined the line for food.

When they were finally seated at a table across from each other, Reid shook his head as he watched her dig into her decidedly low-rent food. "I have to admit, I never quite pictured someone of your stature voluntarily eating in a hospital cafeteria."

"I may generally prefer the finer things in life," she conceded, elegantly wiping a paper napkin at her mouth, "but rich people each such _boring_ food, wouldn't you agree? Some of it can glorious," she admitted, "but for the most part there's nothing to it. And I just like food too much. The last time I was in here," Lucinda told him, "Luke kept sneaking me their vanilla puddings. Oh, they're divine!"

Amused at the image, Reid smiled. "Did he sneak you milkshakes from _Al's_ , too?"

"He told you about that, hmm?" she asked. "Is there anything he hasn't told you?"

There was something about the way she asked that question that left him feeling cautious. "I feel like I'm being judged," he replied.

"That's because you're a smart man," Lucinda retorted, gesturing towards him with her spoon. "Not that my opinion would mean much to him at the moment," she shrugged, "when it's obvious to anyone who looks at the two of you how crazy you are about each other."

There was absolutely no point in disagreeing with the last part of that statement, because it was the utter truth. "Don't sell yourself short," he insisted, "your opinion will always mean a lot to him."

"Is that so?" she asked rhetorically, meeting his gaze. "Tell me, Reid, what do you think Luke would do if I told him that you were bad for him, and he needed to end the relationship immediately?"

Interesting question. "You'd never tell him that," he retorted, knowing it was the truth, "you like me too much."

Her lips twitched. "You haven't answered the question."

Conceding, Reid tipped his head forward. "He'd be upset that the Grandparent he has such a special relationship with couldn't see what a great catch I am," her lips twitched again, "and he'd try to get you to understand how much we care about each other. Ultimately, though," his hand finally reached for his fork, ready to dig into his pasta, "he'd tell you that he's an adult and that it's his decision. He'd prefer that you liked me, approved of me, but ultimately it's down to him who he is or isn't in a relationship with."

Nodding slowly, Lucinda seemed to be thinking over his response. "And what if I told you to leave Luke alone? For - oh, I don't know? Five million dollars?"

Reid found it interesting that this 'test' was coming now of all times. "I'd politely tell you to shove it where the sun doesn't shine - okay, no, I wouldn't say it politely at all. I have money. Not as much as you," he acknowledged, "but no one will ever be able to buy me with money."

"A neurosurgeon does get paid extremely well," she agreed, then regarded him seriously, knowingly. "What if I threatened your career?"

Reid realised instantly that she knew about Barbara. "Not a threat I'm unaccustomed to."

"Oh, I'm extremely aware of that," she nodded. "You caved to demands the first time. What's to say you won't the second?"

That was easy. "Because the only thing I had to lose last time was my career. If you forced me to chose between Luke and my career, I'd happily hand over my stethoscope to Bob and walk away, because we both know I'd have the one thing that _really_ matters." It was just as well Luke wasn't around to hear all of this, because he'd probably start blubbing emotionally.

Smirking, nodding approvingly, Lucinda reached into a pocket and produced a business card.

"What's this?" Reid asked as he took it, confused by the turn of events.

"Luke told me your plans," she explained, hand returning to her spoon, "about shipping your belongings from Dallas. They'll give you an excellent rate as a favour to me," she nodded towards the card, "and will follow any instructions to the letter."

Completely confused by now - not at Lucinda being protective, but at her over-protectiveness and sudden turnaround - Reid pocketed the card. "Did Noah get this kind of treatment?"

"That boy has no furniture to move," she pointed out.

Reid gave her a look. "You know what I mean."

"Yes, I do," she smiled. "Noah was...is," she corrected, "a troubled young man. Desperate for love. In that way, the two of you are very much alike." Reid was all set to point out how _utterly wrong_ she was when she continued speaking. "And he's been through a great deal, overcome much. But I never really felt that Noah had the..." she mulled over her words, "...strength of character to properly support Luke - or allow himself to be supported by Luke. When Luke was first in hospital after the paralysis, or after that business with Colonel Mayer in New York...it never felt quite _right_ the way Noah behaved. Noah never received this kind of treatment," she said finally, "because I had a feeling all along that it wasn't going to last." She studied him significantly. "I get quite a different impression from you."

Reid supposed he should feel flattered or good about himself. "So basically, you're interrogating me and my feelings for Luke because you think this might actually go somewhere?"

"What did you think all that marriage talk was for?" she replied. "I needed to see how easily you scared."

Reid just stared at her. "Not very." Not when it mattered. "And why wait until now?"

"I'd say going back to close up shop in your old life in Dallas is as good a time as any to make sure you're serious about this."

He rose his eyebrows. "I'd say going back to close up shop in my old life in Dallas is as good a sign as any that I'm serious about this."

"Fair enough," she nodded firmly, accepting his point. "Now, I've been investigating what I can of their schedules, and I believe the best day to make our presentation to the Board is next Tuesday at 11 o'clock." Reid blinked at the sudden apparent acceptance of his feelings and the change in subject. "Can you have everything ready by then?"

Normally on top of his game, Reid found himself fumbling to catch up. "Um...I'll need to talk to Luke and Bob, but - yeah," he thought over all they'd accomplished so far, "I don't see why not."

"Excellent. Word is beginning to spread of the three of you always being cloistered away together in meetings. If they haven't heard yet, they will soon - so the sooner we can make this presentation, the better."

*

Luke and Bob both agreed they'd be able to meet the deadline, and having a deadline only spurred them on to re-double their efforts, researching, organising and planning. During the day Luke and Reid worked every waking moment - most of it together - and at night they slept like the dead. Sex mostly went out of the window, as they seemed to silently agree it could wait until after the presentation, as - right now, at least - focusing on work was more important.

Putting the PowerPoint together was a task all by itself, Reid trying to keep it more fact-based while Luke insisted on trying to give it some character, claiming Reid's version was too 'dry and boring'. Reid argued that at least his didn't have cutesy, distracting drawings on it.

Bob found them some common ground, of course, and they eventually stumbled their way into a PowerPoint that was professional yet somewhat interesting - and that was only really for the numbers, anyway. What would really matter, of course, was the way they'd present it themselves.

Evenings were spent in Reid's room, having fun of a different kind as they planned exactly who would say what or when, Luke pointing out that Reid should try and curb the snark and Reid pointing out that Luke shouldn't blatantly suck up, either. With Bob and Lucinda's help, they tried to think up - and answer - any question any member of the Board might ask them. They were both aware of how important the presentation was and how important it was not to mess this up - something fulfilling for them to do _together_ \- and sometimes their practising went into the wee hours.

One night, this even resulted in Brad pounding on the wall. "Will you guys keep in down?! It's even worse than the moaning every five minutes!"

They looked at each other, Reid not at all bothered and Luke only slightly chagrined.

Reid smirked. "Guess it's just as well we're moving out soon." He blamed the slip on the late hour, but at least it made Luke smile.

The rest of the week and the weekend passed in what felt like the blink of an eye and soon it was Monday night. Bob had even come over to Katie and Brad's, as they tried to give some last minute oomph to the presentation. It'd been decided that, as Chief of Staff, Bob had to at least appear partisan, so Luke and Reid would be making the presentation alone. They knew they had Lucinda's vote in their pocket and that, despite the research she'd done, the other's could still go either way.

Katie and Brad were in for the evening, too, and for once neither one of them were actually getting on Reid's nerves, making some surprisingly good suggestions and remarks. It was as Luke was passionately debating a particular point with Brad - who was proving, once again, that he actually had some brains in there somewhere - that Reid found himself looking around at this group of people. All of them tired but comfortable - Bob for once foregoing his suit jacket, revealing the braces he wore underneath - drinking soda and eating unhealthy snacks, debating the various merits of a presentation that might bring something amazing to this small town in the middle of nowhere, Illinois.

How the hell did this happen? How did this become his life?

He was just looking at the man in question - laughing at something Brad had said - when Katie announced loudly. "Oh, Reid! I completely forgot." Shaking his head, he watched as she trotted over to the kitchen and came back again, holding out an envelope. "This came today."

Taking the envelope, he read his name on the front - handwritten, with no address - and turned it over, carefully tearing the back of it open. It'd felt like a card inside and his suspicions were proven right when he tugged a white piece of card out. It was embossed around the edges with silver; the writing in the middle of the card embossed in the same colour.

_Reid Oliver and Guest_  
are invited to the wedding of  
Emily Stewart  
and  
Paul Ryan 

Reid stared at the invitation in amazement, at the date, time and place listed underneath. At the shiny _RSVP_ at the bottom.

"What is it?" Luke asked, curious, stepping next to him. "Oh, cool! That's so nice of them. Told you he was a friend," he teased, grabbing the invite from Reid's loose fingers. As he showed it around, Bob confessed that he'd suspected what it was, as he and Kim had received theirs already.

Reid just stood there, still visualising it in his head.

_Reid Oliver and Guest._

_Reid Oliver and Guest._

Not Luke and Reid. Not Luke and Guest.

As Katie frowned and stepped towards him, asking if everything was all right, Reid shook it off and declared that he was fine - just needed more caffeine. As he retreated to the kitchen and stuck his head in the fridge in the search for Coke, Reid's lips started turning up.

Maybe they were friends, after all.

*

Just before 10am the next day, the three of them were in the main hospital Meeting Room, setting up the presentation.

Luke was working on the touch pad on the laptop they'd set up with great enthusiasm - doing God knew what, as the PowerPoint had already been finished - and Reid eyed him suspiciously. "You better not be adding any animations to those transitions," he commented. They'd already discussed - well, argued about - this and Reid had been sure they'd agreed to no animations at all. As far as Reid was concerned, there was no reason at all that words needed to appear on-screen by spinning around 360 degrees repeatedly - especially if they wanted to be taken seriously.

"Oh, gee, would you look at that?" Luke replied extremely conveniently. "It's 10am."

Reid paused in the middle of fiddling with the power source for the projector. Bob had clearly designated himself King of the Remote, his greedy hand clutching at the small controller. Reid was willing to bet poor Kim never got a look-in when it came to TV in the Hughes household.

"What's your point?' Reid finally asked.

Stopping what they were both doing, Luke and Bob stared at him incredulously. Reid instantly realised he was missing something.

"What?"

Luke continued to stare at him. "You're joking, right?"

"Why would I joke when I literally have no idea what you're talking about?"

"Reid," Luke began, sharing a look with Bob, who looked just as surprised, "you have an appointment today at 10. With Dr Lloyd. About your _hands_."

Suddenly that comment Luke had made a few days ago about Reid probably having enough time before the presentation made a lot more sense.

"I forgot." He could hear the amazement he felt being reflected in his voice. He actually forgot something. He never forgot anything important.

Luke's own surprise smoothly changed into amused reassurance. Standing up, he strolled over to Reid. "Guess that brain of yours isn't as faultless as you like to think it is. Go on," he encouraged, when Reid still sat there, stupefied. "And if it all goes well," he leant in close, so only Reid could hear, "when we get home tonight..."

"Yeah, appointment!" Reid suddenly announced, rushing to his feet and towards the door. He certainly didn't need any more encouragement whatsoever, and he was pretty sure he heard Bob chuckling darkly to himself as he left the room. Reid decided that not only was Bob an evil son of a bitch, he was definitely a dirty old man.

His kind of guy.

Reid didn't waste any time getting to Lloyd's office and when he arrived he pushed open the door, traversed the three steps to her desk and stuck his hands out beneath her nose.

She glanced up at him, thoroughly unimpressed. "A pleasure as always, Dr Oliver. Won't you take a seat?"

"No time - I have plans," he replied, shaking his hands lightly to point out, _hey, inspect these pieces of beauty already._

"Yes, that's right," she sat back in her chair, ignoring his hands, "you're meeting with the Hospital Board today."

Just once, Reid would really like it if news didn't spread around a hospital like wildfire. "Congratulations, you can listen to hospital gossip. Well done."

"Dr Oliver, we've talked about your rudeness before," she began, "and I feel I made myself clear. If you won't show me a modicum of respect, I won't give you what you want."

The killer of it was, she was right. They may not have talked about it directly but it had definitely been inferred. And truthfully, she kind of had a point. That crap about 'gathering more flies with honey instead of vinegar' was turning out to be true - it was just so much more _boring_. 

Today, however, he couldn't afford to waste time so he conceded, plopping himself down in the chair behind him.

Nodding her acknowledgement, Dr Lloyd began peppering him with questions - some of them entirely unrelated to his hands in Reid's opinion, something he let her know about in great detail. She made it equally clear that she didn't care what he thought and was simply doing her job.

Eventually, _finally_ she asked to examine his hands, swinging around and switching on the magnifying lamp she kept on one corner of her desk. Reid held them out eagerly, barely keeping his comments to himself as she slowly studied every facet of his hands. He'd stopped applying the dressings a few days before, when the last of the tears in the skin had appeared to heal completely, so Dr Lloyd looked over his bare hands carefully. She asked him to perform several exercises with his hands, carefully judging his pain reaction each time - which turned out to be none.

Apparently finished, she turned off the lamp and pushed it to one side, releasing his left hand. "In my professional judgement," she told him, "your hands are healed and fit for most tasks." Reid flexed them automatically in satisfaction at hearing that statement. "However," Dr Lloyd quickly continued, "I will not certify you as fit for any kind of brain surgery until you've proven that you've lost none of your skill and dexterity. You'll have to undergo a strict battery of tests until I'm convinced you're once again fit for surgery."

Reid had expected nothing less - and wouldn't want to put his patients at that kind of risk, anyway. "Understood."

Dr Lloyd nodded, then shrugged. "You can go," she ordered, "I have things to do that don't involve you."

More than satisfied for the time-being - he'd love to have been told that he could dive back into brain surgery that very instant, but knew it wasn't realistic, and Reid Oliver was nothing if not a realist - Reid stood and made his way towards the door.

"Dr Oliver," her voice called out, making him turn before he reached the exit. "Take it easy," she nodded towards his hands, "I realise this may be hard for you, but don't try and do everything at once. And good luck today," she encouraged with a barely visible smile, before returning to the file she'd been making notes in.

Surprised, Reid turned back and pulled open the door.

Luke was waiting on the other side - and couldn't even be bothered to look guilty about his obviousness. "I was going to wait for you in the Meeting Room," he explained, "but I got all _antsy_ and then Bob encouraged me to come and wait for you, so..." he gestured stupidly "...here I am. What did she say?" he rushed on.

Smirking, Reid reached out and grabbed one of Luke's hands, threading their fingers together firmly. Just as Luke began to smile at what that particular movement implied, Reid started walking, tugging Luke firmly along behind him. Luke just went with it, waiting patiently as Reid moved from room to room, looking through the window of each one until he finally found what he was looking for.

An empty room.

Opening the door he propelled Luke inside, turning to close the blinds.

"What are you doing?" Luke asked, but from the tone of his voice, he had a pretty good idea himself.

When Reid tugged him back in again Luke didn't resist then, either, kissing Reid back as passionately as Reid was kissing him. Pushing him up against the door, Reid's hands immediately slipped down to Luke's pants, un-fastening the button and lowering the zipper. Luke was already starting to get hard by the time Reid cupped him through his boxers, gasping and blatantly shoving his covered cock towards Reid's hand.

"Reid," Luke breathed and that was all Reid needed to delve beneath Luke's underwear and finally wrap his hand around Luke's cock. Thudding his head back against the door, Luke groaned as Reid jerked his wrist, twisting at the head, feeling Luke's cock fill out beneath his grasp.

"Wanted this for so long," Reid hissed, lifting his hand away temporarily to lick across the palm, before resuming his ministrations with gusto. Luke moaned softly, both hands coming up to rest on Reid's shoulders, bracing himself. "Wanted to see you come just because of my hands. Wanted to see what they could do to you."

"W-wanted that, too," Luke gasped, "fuck, I'm not gonna last."

"No need to try and hold out on my account," Reid joked, but frankly he meant it. Watching Luke come apart at the seams was one of his favourite ways to spend his time.

Chuckling, Luke shook his head then lowered it, pressing it against Reid's shoulder - apparently to give himself a good view of the action. Reid wasn't about to stop him from enjoying himself, adding a little more _friction_ , a little more twist to his movements.

"Wanna see your hands on me," Luke encouraged breathlessly, "your beautiful, beauti...oh, _shit_ ," he hissed and Reid released Luke's cock, quickly sinking to his knees and covering the head with his mouth. After all, it'd make the clean-up much easier and there was no need to ruin Luke's expensive shirt.

Luke's head thumped back against the door even harder as he let rip with a long, guttural moan, his cock spurting generously inside Reid's mouth. Long used to sucking Luke's cock by now, Reid dealt with it with ease, swallowing quickly as his hand returned to Luke's cock, milking the last of the come from it.

Closing his eyes, Reid smiled and pressed his face against Luke's hip.

"I think you're the only thing keeping me upright right now," Luke announced.

Chuckling, Reid got to his feet - Christ, his knees were getting too old for this hard floors crap - and Luke promptly pulled him in for a kiss, indulging in the taste of his own come. Luke made a happy noise and as they kissed, Reid worked in reverse - tucking Luke back inside his boxers, carefully zipping him up and fastening the button.

When the kiss ended, they smiled at each other.

"Want me to return the favour?" Luke asked affectionately.

Much as he'd love that...Reid glanced at his watch and shook his head. "No time. Make it up to me tonight."

"I will," Luke promised, kissing him hard - before he broke away, laughing at something.

Reid chose not to be offended. "What?"

Luke kept chuckling. "It's just..." he shrugged, bringing a hand up to Reid's hair, smiling at him. "So much for being professional at work."

Seeing his point, Reid grinned himself. "Be honest, we both knew that was never gonna last."

Once they assured each other that they both looked acceptable, they stepped outside. No one in the hospital corridor seemed to have any idea of what'd just happened and they calmly walked hand-in-hand to the Meeting Room.

The moment they stepped inside, Bob turned around, his gaze instantly moving to their joined hands. "Excellent," he announced, clearly pleased. "Seeing as you two are _finally_ here," he said, amused as Reid was that Luke tried to look innocent and failed miserably, "I'd better make myself scarce." Glancing at his watch, he started moving quickly, picking up a huge pile of paperwork he'd brought with him. "Oh yes, definitely." Moving rapidly across the room, he paused by the door, turning around to smile at them. "Remember," he began, looking at them each in turn, "be honest, but not too bluntly honest. They want facts and figures, but they don't want to be clobbered over the head with them."

Reid realised they were both staring at him. "What?"

Smiling at them, Bob nodded. "I'm sure you'll make a fine team," he encouraged, "good luck."

After Bob let himself out of the room, they turned to survey their handiwork. The first slide of the PowerPoint was currently being displayed on the screen they'd set up earlier. The food and drink they'd arranged was placed strategically around the table, within easy reach of anyone who might want some. The twelve comfortable chairs were arranged carefully around the large table, each one of them having a paper copy of the presentation placed in front of them - professionally bound at their own expense - so the Board Members would be able to look through it at their leisure later on.

Luke had hung his suit jacket over one of the chairs and picked it up now, shrugging it back on and smoothing the material down with his hands. "How do I look?" he asked, turning towards Reid.

Reid pondered the question seriously, raking his gaze over every inch of Luke's body as he fished a breath mint out of the packet in his pocket. Luke had insisted on bringing some and, frankly, now he was grateful. "Hot."

Flushing at the comment, Luke still managed to roll his eyes, too. "Yeah, because that's how I want the Board Members to see me."

"Never underestimate the power of your own hotness. Some of them are women," Reid pointed out, "some of them may even be gay."

"Unlikely," Luke retorted, pacing nervously to the other side of the room. "God, what if this doesn't work?"

Reid was surprised at this sudden change in Luke's attitude. From the moment they'd decided to try and make the neuro-wing a reality, Luke had been firm, confident and sure of his opinions. He'd never appeared nervous at all - until now.

Reid moved until he was next to him, catching Luke's arm with his hand - he could do that kind of thing now - gently turning Luke towards him. "What's up?"

Sighing, Luke looked pained as he faced him. "We've put so much into this, Reid. I really think I could do this. _We_ could do this. I haven't felt that way in a...long time."

Reid spoke quietly as it all slotted into place. "And you're worried we'll lose the opportunity before we even begin."

Luke nodded slowly. "Yeah. It's amazing enough that Bob even gave us this idea, something that we both think we're going to enjoy - together - but if it doesn't happen..."

"We'll have to try and find something else," Reid reasoned. "Look, don't shoot the horse before it's out of the barn." Luke frowned at him. Reid shrugged. "What? It's horse-related. I thought you'd appreciate it."

Luke managed a chuckle. "Dork."

Reid continued. "What I'm saying is - one thing at a time. Let's get through this. Wait to hear what they have to say. And _then_ find out if we have to try and find something else to do. There's no point in worrying about it until we know."

"I just can't help it sometimes," Luke admitted.

"That's because you worry about everything," Reid informed him, "and there's no time for that. Now, back straight, head up. You need to be the man you've been for the last two weeks. You're not going to show them why it's good for the hospital, you're going to _tell_ them and they're going to _listen_."

Luke was just gazing at him somewhat stupidly as the door opened and the first Board Member stepped inside. Briefly holding hands, exchanging looks, they turned around together to face the new arrival.

They could do this.

*

As the last Board Member stepped out of the room - bar Lucinda, who'd lingered behind intentionally - they turned to look at each other. The moment the door clicked shut, Luke threw himself at Reid.

"You were _fantastic!_ "

Grinning somewhat stupidly himself, Reid hugged him back. "Well, I didn't do it alone, Mr Snyder."

"He's quite right, darling," Lucinda smiled as she stepped next to them, "the two of you together were quite marvellous, I must say. I've known these people for a long time and their interest was definitely piqued. Even that old biddy, Jennifer Nicholson, was practically salivating."

"Grandmother," Luke rebuked as he stepped back.

"Believe me," she assured him, "it's nothing compared to what she's called me over the years."

At the sound of the door opening, they turned to see Bob peering inside the room. Assured they were alone, he quickly walked towards them. "So? How did it go?"

"Fantastically, apparently," Reid replied, gesturing towards the others. And truthfully, in his own opinion it had gone pretty damn well. They'd stayed calm and collected, and had a prepared answer for every question that'd cropped up - including the question about whether their relationship would be a problem or not.

"That's wonderful news," Bob enthused, "truly wonderful. Now all we can do is wait, I suppose."

"Ugh," Lucinda responded, "tell me, Bob - why can't the things I want happen instantaneously?"

Reid and Luke shared a look as Bob indulged her. "These times are sent to try us, Lucinda. As for you two," he turned towards Reid and Luke - and Reid recognised the look in his eye. Bob wanted him to do something.

"Right, rounds."

"Go home," Bob corrected.

That he had not been expecting. "It's barely past one-"

"And the two of you have been working yourself into the ground on this. The presentation has been made, the Board Members spoken to - there's nothing more you can do. Besides, in the likelihood that this proposal goes forward, I'm going to need the brains behind the project well-rested and ready to work." He looked significantly from Reid to Luke. "Go home. Get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow."

Sharing another look, they shrugged. They certainly weren't about to protest any further. Luke hugged his Grandmother, thanking her for her help, then shook hands with Bob. Reid shook both their hands and, just before he left, grabbed two trays of food from the table, only pausing when he realised they were all staring at him.

He shrugged. "Well it's just _stupid_ letting all this food go to waste."

After stepping out of the Meeting Room, they were accosted almost immediately by one Jennifer Nicholson herself.

"Mrs Nicholson!" Luke greeted too loudly.

"Mr Snyder," she nodded towards him - sneered, really - before looking at Reid. "Dr Oliver, I returned because there was something I forgot to tell you earlier."

Reid stood there holding the food platters, trying to look professional. "Yes?"

"I'll be holding an event, soon, trying to drum up support for a personal project of mine. I feel that a man of your stature will benefit the cause, so I'll pass on all the details to you later. Good afternoon." Saying nothing else, she quickly turned and walked away.

Luke and Reid stared at each other.

"Entitled, much?" Reid asked, immediately plotting ways he could get out of attending.

Being the middle of the day, they were all alone when they made it back to Katie and Brad's place. Reid had just managed to shove what he could into the fridge when Luke slammed the door shut revealing his naked body standing beside it.

Right, _priorities._

Food could wait.

Five minutes later, two of Reid's lubed fingers were pressing inside Luke's magnificent ass. Reid revelled in every second of it, of being able to use his hands on Luke properly after all this time, of feeling his tight warmth around his fingers, of the gasps and moans he was making Luke produce. Finding Luke's prostate with his fingers was particularly enjoyable and Reid went to town, massaging Luke's prostate with one hand while the other alternated between playing with Luke's balls and cock - while his mouth also joined in on the fun.

Luke sounded like he was having a hell of a good time, especially as Reid was giving him a taste of his own medicine - bringing him to the brink of orgasm again and again, then holding off until Luke calmed down enough for Reid to torment him again. Now that he was able to use his hands, he was determined to make it last for as long as possible.

Luke made hot, needy sounds for what felt like - and might have been; he'd lost track of all time - hours, one hand fisted in the bed sheets; the other firmly planted in Reid's hair. He rocked up into Reid's mouth and down onto Reid's fingers and seemed to be generally driving himself insane.

They were both caked in sweat, Luke's hair sticking to his face in a way that should've been unattractive but somehow made him hotter, his head rolling back as Reid's tongue moved down to join his fingers in playing with Luke's ass.

Jerking, Luke cursed. "Wanna come," he panted.

That was a request Reid was beginning to agree with himself. As hot as this experience was, he couldn't go on tormenting Luke - and subsequently, himself - forever. Frankly, his dick wasn't going to hold out.

"You want me to make you come?" he asked, reaching for the condom he'd thankfully had the brains to leave within reach when they'd first started kissing. Luke made a noise of complaint when Reid withdrew his fingers, but started smiling when he saw that he was ripping open the condom. Reid wasn't deliberately giving Luke a show but he seemed to be enjoying it well enough anyway, still smiling as he gently jerked a hand up and down his cock, watching as Reid rolled the condom on - an activity he'd got used to Luke doing for him, and it almost felt a little strange now, doing it himself.

He got over that feeling quickly.

"C'mere," Luke encouraged, moving his hand away from his cock and using it on Reid's side to urge him closer. Planting his knees onto the mattress, Reid guided his cock into position, Luke opening his legs wider and lifting his hips to give him more access.

Reid had worked Luke open so thoroughly that it didn't take much effort to press inside, burying himself to the hilt. Christ, it still felt incredible.

Humming happily, Luke tugged Reid's head down closer to his own. "It's not gonna take much, Dr Oliver. You got me all worked up," he grinned.

Reid could sympathise. He barely had any control left himself just from watching Luke lose it. "I know exactly how you feel, Mr Snyder."

Still smiling, Luke brought his mouth up to Reid's. "Fuck me," he whispered, licking a tongue against Reid's mouth, "really, _really_ hard."

Jesus Christ. There were two immediate thoughts: one, how Noah ever gave this up had to be a result of some kind of neurological condition. Two, not coming on the spot was a miraculous feat all by itself. Clinging to the last shreds of control he had left, Reid followed Luke's instructions to the letter.

They'd been right - it didn't last long. It barely lasted thirty seconds.

But it was a fucking amazing thirty seconds.

*

Reid had no idea what time it was when he woke up, but it felt like he'd been asleep for a while. Stretching, he blinked his eyes open and turned his head to see Luke shifting next to him, slowly coming back to consciousness. When he finally opened his eyes, he saw Reid watching him and smiled.

"Hey," he said tenderly.

Finding himself smiling back, Reid glanced beyond him to see the time on his alarm clock - and up went the eyebrows. "Nearly 8," he announced.

"Guess Bob was right," Luke replied, before yawning right in Reid's face. "Sorry," he apologised with a wrinkled nose afterwards, "I could actually go back to sleep."

"All the more reason to get up," Reid told him, "if you keep sleeping now you probably won't be able to sleep tonight." Reid had become used to sleeping wherever he could, whenever he could. Luke was a different matter and Reid saw no need to disrupt his sleeping patterns any more than they had to. For a start, it wouldn't be good for his kidney.

"I could eat," Luke admitted, something the two of them had in common. Regretfully dragging themselves from bed, they put on their robes - enjoying feeling each other up a little too much in the process - and emerged from the bedroom.

They found Katie and Brad sitting at the kitchen counter together, hunched over a laptop.

"Hey, guys," Katie greeted, the two of them turning to look at Luke and Reid. "So, how did it go?"

"We were going to ask earlier," Brad volunteered, "but the two of you looked so tuckered out-"

"Yeah, yeah, we get the impression," Reid waved him off. "And well, apparently." He looked at Luke, who nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, I do think it went well. Very well, actually. If nothing comes of it, at least I won't think it's because we didn't do everything we could."

"If it doesn't happen it's office politics and nothing else," Reid replied bluntly, "not because of anything you and I did."

"I guess we'll see," Luke shrugged, before his stomach produced a loud growl. "Yeah," he said, patting it, "I think it's time to eat."

Reid turned and pulled open the fridge door. "Thankfully, I have just the thing." Only when he looked inside the fridge, it seemed suspiciously empty. Lifting his head, he peered menacingly over the top of the fridge door.

Brad shrugged. "Hey, you know the rules - anything left in there is fair game."

Squinting at him, Reid yanked out the last remaining platter of sandwiches, slammed the fridge door and stalked across to the sofa.

"I'll get drinks!" Luke announced awkwardly, and a minute later he joined Reid on the sofa, a soda in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. "There's enough for both of us, anyway," he murmured quietly, inspecting the platter closely.

"Thanks," Reid replied, placing the bottle on the table. To be honest, he was more annoyed at himself for forgetting Brad's stupid rule about the fridge. Anyone who'd ever co-habited with someone you weren't sleeping with knew that you labelled everything in the fridge that was yours - but Brad refused to adapt to the system.

"Look at it this way," Luke continued quietly as they settled back, the platter resting on their thighs, "you won't have to put up with anyone stealing your food for much longer." Even as he said that, he shamelessly made a grab for the first sandwich.

"Except you," Reid pointed out.

Luke swallowed his first bite. "You'll survive," he retorted, apparently unaware of the blob of mayo now resting on the corner of his bottom lip.

"You got a..." Reid began, reaching a hand out and actually able to use his thumb to wipe the blob away, bringing his thumb up to his mouth to suck the mayonnaise off.

Luke followed the movement with his eyes. "Any left?" he asked seductively, his tongue coming out to deliberately run across his bottom lip.

"Allow me," Reid suggested, leaning in to kiss the last of the mayonnaise off. Luke must have fumbled the platter off towards the coffee table because Reid certainly didn't, both hands coming up to Luke's face and hair as he deepened the kiss. Luke's own hands came up, pressing Reid back against the sofa-

Brad cleared his throat. Loudly.

Breaking the kiss, they stared at each other.

Right.

"Not much longer," Luke reminded, then sat up and went about adjusting his robe. Sighing, Reid joined him, grabbing his drink and the remote as they settled back on the sofa together. Turning on the TV, they ate sandwiches and sipped at their drinks, and when they flicked to an animal rescue show, Luke pretended he wanted to watch it.

Yet another reason to love Luke Snyder.

"Um, guys," Katie interrupted, making them turn their heads towards them, "would you mind turning that down? We're just trying to get something ready for the show tomorrow, so..."

Turning it down? The volume was barely up as it was. Luke was giving him a _look_ so Reid sighed and decided to be the better man for once, turning the volume down.

"Thanks," Katie smiled.

Reid grunted.

He managed not to complain until he and Luke were back in his room alone together, where he proceeded to moan - in great detail and great length - about how irritating Brad and Katie were. Luke spent the whole rant watching from the bed, propping his head up on the mattress with his hand, looking annoyingly _amused_ the entire time.

" _Wow_ ," he declared when Reid finally finished speaking, "you are totally ready to move out."

Realising it was true, Reid sagged down on the side of the bed. "Yeah. I guess I am." With the purchase of the new apartment progressing, clearing out his belongings from the condo...it was time.

Shifting towards him, Luke sat up and leant against Reid. "Think I'll drive you crazy once you're in your new place?" he tried to play it off like a joke, but there was a thread of seriousness to the question.

"You already do," Reid replied, making both of them smile, "but you have your...compensations." They shared a warm look. "And I don't just mean the sex," he added.

Chuckling, Luke moved until he was sitting next to Reid properly. "I think we did okay today," he announced suddenly. "The wait's going to kill me, but...thanks for calming me down earlier."

Reid shrugged. "No problem. That's what you do in a relationship, right? Take the edge off your partners' histrionics?"

"Oh, they were histrionics, now?" Luke questioned doubtfully. "I think someone has a selective memory."

"I think that someone's not the only one," he retorted, smirking.

Luke's hand slipped into his, their fingers tangling together - and Reid had a sudden flashback to earlier, being inside Luke, their fingers linking together - and told himself that he'd never try to take something like touch, something as simple as touch, for granted.

So Luke made a small noise of surprise when Reid pushed him onto his back, tugging his robe free - enjoying the feel of the material as it passed through his hands - and started running his hand across warm skin. His fingers paused as they reached the scar, Reid gently feeling the slightly raised tissue with his fingertips, Luke watching him with a warm gaze. Leaning in, Reid pressed a brief kiss to Luke's mouth.

And proceeded to touch every single inch of Luke's body.

He was particularly ticklish on the soles of his feet.

*

With nothing more to do as they waited for the Board to make their decision - something that was admittedly driving them both crazy - Luke and Reid were granted a reprieve on the day the purchase of the apartment finally went through.

Reid easily completed his rounds - without any assistance from Nurse Stewart, something he gleefully pointed out every time he saw her. Judging by her reaction, she was just as happy as Reid was - something that didn't stop him from pointing it out.

When he returned, triumphant, to his office - it was amazing how something so common place, having the use of his hands, could make him feel so good about himself - there was a message waiting from Carol, loudly sharing the good news. When his ears had finished being assaulted, he listened to the rest of the message, asking if he could meet her outside the apartment building after work.

He immediately called her back, and then he called Luke.

Reid didn't finish until after 8pm on that particular day, but ever eager to maintain her good reputation - and having already been informed of his expected finishing time - she was smiling brightly on the sidewalk as they pulled up in Luke's car.

Reid definitely wouldn't be able to do her job, for so many reasons.

"Welcome, gentlemen, welcome," she greeted cheerily, giving both of their hands a quick shake. "Well, I'm sure you're both eager to get started, so let's go!"

As Reid followed behind his ridiculously chirpy realtor, he shook his head and glanced at Luke. "Where did you find her?" he asked in disbelief.

Luke smiled at him. "Annoyingboyfriends.com. I asked them to send someone who would _really_ aggravate you."

Reid had to give him credit, smiling and nodding his head in admiration and acknowledgement of Luke's quick wits - hell, it was half of the reason they were together. "Point made," he conceded. There was no way Luke would've deliberately found a realtor who irritated him. Not that Luke wasn't capable of being that nefarious, but apartment buying was the kind of thing he took seriously. Luke just looked pleased with himself, but it wasn't like he didn't deserve the moment.

At the door, Carol gave them the security code to get into the building, then encouraged them both to try it out. Satisfied that he and Luke were capable of performing meaningless tasks that even a monkey wouldn't be proud of, she congratulated them effusively and led them into the building. Reid was so busy feeling patronised at being treated like a dog who'd followed its owners instructions, that he nearly missed the amused look Luke sent his way. It was always so much more fun quietly mocking people with Luke instead of doing so alone.

Her one good point, as far as Reid was concerned, was that she didn't go near the call button for the elevator, striding immediately towards the stairs - apparently remembering Reid's preference for them. Feeling some grudging respect for her, Reid quickly followed her up the stairs, where she turned around, brandishing a pair of keys in her hand.

"I believe this moment is down to you," Carol informed him with a lipstick-enhanced smile. Luke nodded at him encouragingly.

Rolling his eyes - this was hardly the first time he'd unlocked the door to a new apartment - he swiped the keys out of Carol's grasp and turned towards the door. Reid studied the keys for a moment - they were on a simple metal circle and they were identical; one was obviously a spare. Grasping one of them firmly, he calmly unlocked the door and pushed it open. After a moment of fumbling around on an as yet unfamiliar wall, Reid flicked a switch, light flooding the apartment.

Luke and Carol walked in after him, the latter's heals clipping loudly on the wooden floor.

"Well, that's it," she announced warmly, turning around to face them, "unless you have any further questions?"

They looked at each other and shrugged.

"No," Reid said.

"In that case," she advanced towards them, once again shaking their hands, "it's been a pleasure doing business with you. I'm sure you'll be very happy in your new home," she declared, looking at them in turn meaningfully. "Be sure to call me if you have any further needs in the future." With one last, large smile, she strode out of the apartment.

Luke grinned mischievously, sliding towards Reid. "Alone at last," he announced dramatically. Chuckling, Reid rubbed a hand over his face, feeling pretty tired. "How long until your stuff arrives?" Luke asked. "Three days, now?"

"Yeah," Reid nodded. "Come on, let's head to Katie and Brad's." He tugged at Luke's hand, intending him to follow but Luke resisted, standing in place anxiously. Reid frowned. "Something wrong?"

"It's just..." Luke began, "it's your first night officially owning this place," he gestured around. "Shouldn't you be sleeping here?"

Reid made a point of looking around the empty apartment. "Unless you've booked a delivery of invisible furniture you forgot to tell me about, there's nothing that would make sleeping here even a remotely comfortable night."

It was, apparently, just the moment Luke had been waiting for. "Wait here!" he ordered happily, racing out of the room. Reid just blinked, watching as Luke ran out of the apartment, only to run back in. "Order pizza!" he added, before running back outside.

Having no clue what was going on but bowing to the inevitable nonetheless, Reid pulled out his cell phone.

Mere seconds after he ended the call, Luke stumbled into the room, carrying what seemed to be the entire contents of a camping trip. "Little help!" he exclaimed as he teetered to one side, Reid managing to grab him just before he went over. With the added support, Luke was now safely able to dump everything in his arms onto the ground. A few seconds later, the huge backpack he'd been carrying on his back joined the rest of the supplies.

Reid stared in horrified amazement at the huge pile of equipment. "All this was in the trunk?"

Closing the apartment door, Luke got to his knees and started rolling out a mattress pad. "I know, roomier than you expect, right? Everyone's surprised by that."

Not exactly what he was focusing on. "What the hell is this?"

"Come on, even you have to recognise a camping trip when you see one," Luke grinned, sprawling across the mattress pad in an attempt to stop it from rolling back in on itself.

He had managed to figure out that much, but not quite why this expedition was taking place in his new apartment. "What did you do - clear out the entire store?"

"No," Luke laughed, sitting up and reaching for the second mattress pad, "this was all in storage at the farm - except the pillows; they're mine. After you called today I decided this would be fun, so," he shrugged, "I had a look at what we still had and aired it out. We used to go camping every now and then when I was kid, but not as often as I'd have liked - there was always some family drama going on," Luke explained.

"I've never been camping," Reid admitted, looking down at the mattress pads and sleeping bags, all probably entrenched with ancient dust.

Pausing his movements, Luke tipped his head to one side as he looked at Reid. "I figured," he said quietly.

"I always thought I'd hate camping," he acknowledged.

"I figured that, too," Luke smiled, "which is why we're camping _in_ doors, where there's no mud or bugs or creepy crawlies. So," he quickly continued, "are you gonna help or make me do everything myself?" The question was asked light-heartedly but there was a thread of concern, equally apparent on Luke's face. He was worried Reid was going to hate the idea.

"Well..." Reid began, pretending to torment him - which earned him a whack with a pillow across his head.

Reid had never had a pillow fight, either, and he didn't really have one now - but he did hit Luke with a pillow once in revenge.

*

Luke, it seemed, had an answer for everything.

"I could really use something to drink," Reid admitted after taking the first bite of his pizza.

Finishing his own, Luke mumbled something then crawled over to the backpack, fishing around inside until he pulled out several cans of soda and a couple bottles of water.

Reid shook his head. "What else do you have in there?"

There turned out to be snacks, a roll of toilet paper, toothbrushes, toothpaste, a hairbrush, deodorant, a facecloth, a small hand towel, lube and a _lot_ of condoms.

Reid stared at the box with huge eyes. "Luke, I know I'm good, but even I'm not _that_ good."

"It's not-" Luke began, flushing. "I just thought, you know, clean-up might be a problem. So I figured we could both wear them, if necessary." Smart man. Luke wasn't finished though, because the next item he pulled out was a portable, magnetic chess set. "We haven't played in a while," he mentioned softly, placing it next to the pile of goods.

"No," Reid agreed, eyes crinkling at the corners, "we haven't." It'd be nice to get back into the habit again - with Luke, at least.

The last item Luke pulled out of the bag was a clear, thick plastic bag - full of tea light candles. Luke looked at him hopefully.

Oh, for crying out loud. Resigned, Reid glared back at him. "Nowhere _near_ the sleeping bags." That'd be just his luck - burn his new apartment down the same night he got it. He had to admit though, with the bare walls, bare bulbs and no furniture, the current lighting situation was definitely hard on the eyes - especially after being at work all day.

He watched as Luke placed the tea lights a safe distance from the sleeping bags and started lighting them. He was using a lighter to get the job done, and the sight of it made Reid thoughtful.

"Please tell me you're not a hidden pyromaniac."

"No," Luke chuckled, "found this in with the camping supplies, too."

Reid nodded, sitting on top of a sleeping bag, reaching for his pizza again. "Does anyone in Oakdale smoke? Because honestly, now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen anyone smoke since I arrived here."

Luke replied as he kept working. "Maybe in their own homes, but...smoking in public buildings or any kind of public area was banned here a few years ago."

"Huh." Reid was a little surprised - if only because Oakdale seemed to be ahead of the curve on the rest of the Western world. Also, that they were a lot more aggressive with their ruling. "Any public place at all?"

"Yeah, the Mayor's wife died of lung cancer about ten years ago, now. When he became Mayor, he vowed that battling cancer would be one of his top priorities."

Grief often led people to nutty decisions. "Let me guess - instead of just treating the sick, he's trying to stop people from getting sick in the first place. Also: Oakdale has a Mayor?" This was news.

"Someone has to be in charge," Luke shrugged.

"Yeah, but does it have to be the guy who won't even let people make their own decisions?"

Placing the last tea light, Luke got to his feet and frowned as he turned to face him. "I would've thought you of all people would think people were idiotic for smoking."

"Of course I think people are idiotic for smoking," he agreed, "what kind of moron would want to pollute their body that way?"

Luke obviously knew that wasn't all he had to say. "But..."

"But, I also believe they should have the right to make their own stupid, ill-informed decisions, no matter how negatively those decisions may end up affecting them."

Silently walking to the light switch, Luke flicked it off until they were lit only by candlelight. Facing Reid, he walked towards him, quietly sitting down on his own sleeping bag, watching Reid the entire time. "That's what I thought you'd say," he said eventually, a small smile spreading across his mouth. Regarding Reid fondly, it was all getting too romantic for Reid's tastes when Luke spoke again. "So," he continued, "what do you say to strip chess?"

*

To the surprise of no one, Luke ended up completely naked three times in a row. However, so did Reid, because when Luke ended up completely naked, Reid wanted to end up completely naked, too, because sex was so much better when they were both involved and both naked.

"Sorry," Reid panted, his hot, sweaty body pressing against Luke's as they sprawled across the sleeping bags, "but that's all you're getting out of me tonight. And that is _not_ a challenge," he vowed, because that third time had just about killed him and had been a miracle in and of itself. Luke may have been 21 but he sure as hell wasn't.

Chuckling, Luke propped himself on one arm, the other hand petting Reid's chest. "Where're your keys?" he asked bizarrely.

Reid gestured in the general directions of his jeans. "Somewhere in those things you ripped off me."

"Didn't hear you complaining," Luke retorted, groaning as he got to the feet - a sound that filled Reid with satisfaction, because at least he wasn't the only one suffering. Returning a few moments later, Luke plopped himself down and held the keys out to Reid. Reid took them automatically, frowning, wondering just what the hell was going on. "There was one last thing I brought with me," Luke finally explained, stretching out for the backpack again. This time he fumbled with a small zipper on the front. "Something for you." Withdrawing whatever it was from the small pocket, he dropped it onto Reid's still-open palm.

As Reid studied the object, Luke continued explaining. "I picked it up a while ago," he said nervously, "and I've been waiting for the right moment. This felt like it," he shrugged. "I know how much he meant to you," Luke continued quickly, "and I really would've liked to meet him. But...if it's not too presumptuous," he rushed on, "I really think he would've been...happy for you, proud of you, for making a home somewhere. Even if it's not the building itself," he added shamelessly.

Strangely touched by the sentiment, Reid continued to stare at the silver keyring - a small, beautifully crafted pair of boxing gloves. Closing his hand into a fist - the keys and keyring clanging against each other audibly - Reid reached out with his other hand and pulled Luke in close, kissing him with all the jagged-edged _feeling_ bouncing around inside his body.

Luke's hands had come up to Reid's head and when Reid broke the kiss, panting against his mouth, the feeling was still there, urging him on. "I have something for you, too," he breathed harshly, watching his own hands pull the spare key from the cheap keyring it'd been placed on, grab one of Luke's hands away from his head, and place the key squarely in the middle of his palm.

*

The day Reid's furniture and belongings were due to arrive dawned with an alarm clock sounding on a surprisingly chilly morning.

"Autumn's definitely coming," Luke murmured as he hopped out of bed, immediately reaching for a shirt.

The company Lucinda had recommended really did deliver - literally, too. Getting a decent rate on a Sunday was nigh on impossible, but they managed it. Reid couldn't help but wonder what kind of favour the manager owned Lucinda, but wasn't about risk losing the deal by asking.

So, just before 9 o'clock on a chilly Sunday morning, the two of them stood on the curb together, staring down the street and sipping at their mugs of coffee. There was no way they were going to get through this day without coffee and Java didn't open early on a Sunday - also, neither one of them wanted to risk running into Noah - so when they'd driven to the apartment they'd brought a coffee maker with them.

Well, it wasn't so much 'brought' as 'stolen' from Katie and Brad's place. Luke had thought they had permission and Reid decided that, in this case, what Luke didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

Speaking of Luke, he kept watching Reid speculatively as Reid couldn't help but shift from one foot to another.

Reid sighed. "It's colder than I expected, all right? My jacket's not warm enough."

Smiling faintly, Luke stepped towards him and wrapped an arm around him, his bizarrely furnace-like body heating Reid's side immediately. "Now it's my turn to make fun about _you_ not coping with the weather," he teased. "Just wait until winter hits."

Reid tugged him closer, the two of them still watching the road and carefully keeping their drinks from spilling. "I did used to live in Boston, remember? I can cope with an extreme winter."

"Uh huh," Luke stated disbelievingly, "and how many years has it been?"

Yeah, he wasn't answering that. "...a few."

Laughing quietly, Luke hugged him tighter. "Who would have thought? Badass Doctor Reid Oliver, touchy about his age."

"I'm not touchy about my age," he insisted, because it was true, "as long as my hands are still working and my faculties are intact, I could care less about my age. Generally." Because...well, yeah, there was something they actually hadn't talked about yet.

"Generally?" Luke queried, pulling away a little and sadly taking much of his heat with him.

Sighing, deciding it was as good a time as any, Reid met his gaze. "Luke, when I was fifteen, you were just being born."

Clearly surprised, Luke frowned at him. "Is that what this is about? I didn't think the age difference mattered to you."

It didn't; or at least not in the way most people might expect. "I just think we have to be aware of it, that's all. Whether we like it or not, we are at different stages in our lives and it's stupid not to consider that that could develop into a potential problem."

Conceding Reid's point, Luke shrugged. "Okay. Fair enough. But I really don't think it'll be much of an issue," he added, "when I think about you I don't think of you as this much older-"

"Easy, there."

"-much, much older guy," he teased; then shrugged, "you're just Reid. We fit. That's all that matters."

That reaction shouldn't have surprised him. "Of course you've turned it into something romantic."

"Like you don't know who I am by now," Luke retorted.

Sighing again, Reid tugged him back in, focusing back on the road. "So, we fit, huh?"

"Definitely," Luke agreed.

Reid really couldn't argue with that. "Wonder what that says about my maturity."

"You said it," Luke pointed out. "We could've decided that I was the incredibly mature one, raising myself to your level - but no, you went the other way. Oh, hey," he straightened, at what looked like a truck appearing in the distance, "is that it?"

And so it was at 9 o'clock on the dot - really, whatever they owed Lucinda must've been _huge_ \- the delivery van came to a stop outside the apartment building, just as arranged.

The delivery guys were incredibly professional, already knowing which one was Reid, the guy who was clearly the boss introducing himself to both of them. Reid showed him into the building, propping the door open, then into the apartment and let them get to work.

As loud feet banged down the stairs, Luke winced. "Nine a.m. on a Sunday morning? Your new neighbours are going to hate you."

"Start as you mean to go on," he replied, walking over to the coffee maker. "More coffee?"

Despite how fastidious he could be about a great many things, Reid was also a big believer that you should never get in the way of big, strong men who were carrying heavy objects. In fact, Reid strongly believed that the best thing you could do was to stand out of the way and watch.

So he watched. Voraciously.

Luke elbowed him, nearly making him spill his drink. "Could you be a little more obvious, horndog?"

"Science geek, remember?" Reid told him, watching as a guy in a particularly tight shirt placed the coffee table into position. "The first time I used a moving company, it was practically a walking wet dream." He wasn't really exaggerating, either. At the time, there was still a part of him that lusted after the beefed-up jocks who'd ignored him high school, even if they did have walnuts for brains. "Besides," he argued, "he looks like you."

"Reid," Luke replied flatly, "he's _African-American._ "

Reid was pretty sure he wasn't doing a great job of hiding his smile. "Figures the only black guy in this town would be from out of town."

And really, the only reason he was able to relax this much and tease like that, was that the movers were really, really good at their job. As had always happened before, not once did he have to wince at the sound of something being broken or dropped too heavily, or tense in anticipation of something going wrong. Time was money in the moving business, Reid knew that, but although they worked efficiently they were taking great care with everything they brought into the apartment. Reid spoke to them occasionally, indicating what went where, but for the most part he just let them get on with it.

By 9:45 the last piece of furniture - the bedside table - was being placed, and the boss, Chris, was asking if the bed was fine the way it was or if Reid wanted them to put the sheets on for him.

Reid just stared at him. He _really_ needed to have words with Lucinda.

"It's fine," he eventually replied, reaching into the pocket of his jeans for the tip.

"Already taken care of," Chris assured him, holding up a hand to stop him.

Reid blinked. Someone was willingly turning down money? Okay, then. "Well, do you and you guys want a coffee?" he gestured towards the kitchen area.

"Not necessary," he insisted, "but thanks for the offer. I'd appreciate if you'd let Ms Walsh know what you thought of our services," Chris added.

Reid and Luke looked at each other. "Sure. No problem."

"Enjoy your new place," he said genuinely, shaking each of their hands in turn, "don't hesitate to call if you need us again."

And then he was gone.

Still a little stunned, Reid placed his mug on the table and followed after him to make sure that the door had been shut behind Chris. As it turned out, he needn't have worried.

When he walked back into the apartment, Luke was slowly turning in a circle behind the sofa, talking it all in. Smiling, Reid closed the door and walked across the room to join him.

Luke shook his head. "What a difference a few pieces of furniture make. You still need something on the walls, though. And a rug," he continued, looking down at the wooden floor.

Reid regarded him with amusement. "I seem to remember someone insisting that he wasn't particularly domestic."

"Not wanting to have cold feet when I walk across the apartment is hardly being domestic."

"There's this fabulous invention called heating - you may have heard of it."

"There's this fabulous invention called 'jerking off alone'," Luke retorted, "have _you_ heard of it?"

Surprised, Reid laughed, lifting a hand to Luke's shoulder. "I love you, my manipulative boyfriend."

Luke slid in closer, tucking an arm around Reid and looking extremely pleased with life in general. "You say the sweetest things."

Sharing a brief kiss, they smiled at each other - okay, and it was pretty sappy, admittedly - and then Reid looked around at the apartment. "Better get these boxes unpacked, I guess." Not being a fan of hanging on to things needlessly, thankfully there wouldn't be much to put away.

As Luke stepped towards one box and Reid stepped towards another, Reid's cell phone started ringing. Grunting in surprise, he tugged it out of his pocket.

_Katie is calling..._

Luke peered over his shoulder. "They still don't know it's today, right?" They'd made a point of not telling anyone when Reid was actually moving in, because they knew everyone and their dog would want to get involved. Literally, this being Oakdale.

"Nope," Reid confirmed, sending the call to voicemail. "It's probably about their coffee maker."

Walking around Reid until he was facing him, Luke studied him suspiciously. "What about their coffee maker?"

Reid smiled.

*

They didn't escape Katie and Brad completely, however. They'd taken what they could of Reid's belongings when they'd snuck out that morning, but the big suitcase - which had pretty much remained untouched in the corner of Reid's room - probably would've caused too much noise or disruption on the way out, so they left it.

Plus, despite Reid's initial suggestion, he couldn't just move out completely without saying goodbye (or at least the expression of Luke's face when Reid mentioned it told him he couldn't).

So, when they finally returned to Katie and Brad's with the coffee maker, freshly rinsed out and dried, Reid was expecting the glaring Katie who was waiting for them.

"You are an asshole," she declared the moment Reid let them into the apartment, "for so many reasons!"

"Hey, I brought it back," he argued, stepping further into the apartment and gesturing with the coffee maker he held in his hands. She ignored the statement completely, stomping over to him and slapping him on the upper arm. "Hey!"

"I can't believe you!" she complained. "Were you really going to move out without saying goodbye?"

Clearing his throat, Luke snatched the coffee maker out of Reid's hands. "I'll get rid of this," he said quietly, making his escape to the kitchen.

"Coward!" Reid called after him, when Katie slapped his arm again. "Do you _mind?!_ And no, I wasn't going to move out without saying goodbye." He paused. "Luke wouldn't let me."

Making an angry noise, Katie turned away, raising her hands in the air like she was praying to some divine being for patience.

"Hey, Peretti, don't stress yourself out, remember?" Reid reminded, pointing towards the sofa. "Sit."

Grumbling, Katie threw herself onto the sofa. "I _hate_ being treated like a dog."

"Then man-up, or woman-up - whatever the hell it is - and do what you're supposed to do to look after your child. If people keep having to remind you to take it easy, _you're doing it wrong._ "

Staring at him, Katie's lower lip began to wobble and, much to his horror, she suddenly burst out into tears and threw herself at him. "Jesus!"

"I hate being pregnant!" she wailed, clutching at him. "No one cares about you! The only care about the _thing_ living inside you!"

"That's a bunch of baloney and you know it," he argued, desperately trying to beckon Luke over with his free hand. Reaffirming his intelligence, Luke stayed right where he was by the kitchen counter. Smiling. Reid glared at him, then continued speaking to Katie. "Where the hell's the hubby?" Surely this was his job.

"He...had to...see Jack," she got out, still clutching onto him as sobs wracked her body.

Wonderful. "Look," Reid began awkwardly, patting her back occasionally, "no one just cares about the kid, okay? But looking after the kid will ultimately look after you. It's a 2-for-1 deal. The doctor told you that, right? That if you don't look after the kid, you wouldn't be looking after yourself, either?"

She sniffed. "Yeah..."

"And I know I moan a lot about the medical hacks in this town, but most of them have at least some clue of what they're talking about."

Sniffing again, she released her death grip and sat back. The state of her face was...quite something. "That's reassuring."

She sounded more like her usual self, though, which could only be a good thing. "And me moving out is a good thing," he explained, "you know how irritating Brad has been lately." She gave him a look. "Okay," he conceded, "you know how much Brad and I have been irritating each _other_ , lately. Two alpha males in the same space never ends well. Have you never seen National Geographic?"

"Is that what you are?" Luke asked from across the room. Reid shot him a distinctly unimpressed look.

"I'm going to miss you so much," Katie insisted, lips wobbling dangerously again.

He had to stop this before it started again. "Katie, I'll be living, like, five minutes away."

"That's not the point!"

"It kind of is. And think of the upside - you won't have to listen to me and Luke when we're-"

"Doing that thing that we _don't_ mention in front of Katie. Or Brad," Luke quickly added.

"And even better," Reid conceded, "I don't have to listen to the two of you. Biologically, I know how it works, but I really don't want to hear it."

She gave him that Katie look, but at least she didn't seem like she was about to burst into tears again. "Trust you to turn our goodbye into a completely inappropriate discussion about our sex lives."

Wrapping an arm around her, Reid gave her a friendly squeeze. "You know me - I hate to disappoint."

Shaking her head, she pulled away, wiped at her face, and regarded him seriously. "Be happy. Okay?"

Looking past her to see the man standing in the kitchen, Reid smiled gently. "Pretty sure that's inevitable."

When the door to the apartment opened, he turned to see Brad stepping inside.

"Hey, guys...Katie?" he slammed the door, rushing over to the sofa, shoving Reid out of the way. "What the hell did you do to my wife?"

Reid was _so_ glad he was moving.

*

When he wasn't doing rounds, consultations or settling into his new place, Reid was practising. He didn't need to study - he still retained all the information he had, he just had to prove he was still capable of safely performing the practical knowhow. Doctors generally had to re-certify every seven years and, annoyingly, he'd re-certified only two years ago. Now he was going through the process again - or at least the practical side of it.

Truthfully, the process was a lot less complex than having to go through a full re-certification, but it was still a pain in the ass.

It was a pain in the ass he was nonetheless determined to conquer.

Oakdale, of course, didn't have the latest, state of the art _anything_ , but much to his surprise they did have a specialised computerised system that neurosurgeons could use to practise their craft on or simply hone their skills. It effectively recreated the processes that would take place during brain surgery, with the neurosurgeon controlling what happened. It made sense, really - that stuff Bob had told him about Oakdale having a surprisingly high number of neuro-trauma patients was completely accurate, and keeping their neurosurgeon's skills at their best was only logical.

And for once, Oakdale had actually done something logical.

Reid was in the process of trying to stop a bleed in the computerised brain when the door to the small room burst open and Henry stumbled in.

"Oh, here you are," Henry said, sounding relieved. "If you insist on hiding away in the middle of-"

Reid's hands thankfully didn't jerk on the controls that were identical in every way to the tools he'd use on a real patient - they were just connected to a computer, instead. "Get out."

"But I need to-"

" _Out_ Hank, _now!_ If this patient dies because of you, I swear to God-"

The door banged loudly as Henry exited the room.

Letting out a breath, Reid cricked his neck - then carefully continued manipulating the controls.

When he emerged sometime later - the computerised patient, of course, snatched from the jaws of death - it was to find Henry waiting not so patiently in the corridor.

"Finally," he announced when he saw Reid.

Reid was not in the least bit impressed. "Are you blind?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"Am I...what?" Henry asked, looking completely confused. "No, of course not."

"Illiterate, then."

"I assure you I'm perfectly capable of reading-"

"Well, apparently not," Reid pointed out, unfolding his arms and turning to gesture briefly to the door behind him. "You see, that sign reads _Employees Only_. Something you'd know if you were capable of reading."

"Well...I..." Henry spluttered, then tried another tack. "Look, on the upside no patients were actually injured or killed, right?"

"No, but that was an actual test that's important to my continued career as a neurosurgeon, and thanks to you I nearly screwed it up. I don't know how it works in the food service industry, Hank, but back in the real world? We have to prove our skills, prove that we're qualified."

Henry stood there awkwardly. "We have to pass our health and safety inspection?"

"Which you failed when you gave your customers food poisoning," Reid pointed out.

"I told you, that wasn't my fault! That was the delivery..." he sighed dramatically. "You know what? Forget it. I don't even know why I came here in the first place."

An excellent point. "Why _did_ you come here in the first place?" Henry had apparently been searching for him specifically, but Reid couldn't imagine any reason why that would be the case.

Henry looked awkward again. "Did you hear that Paul Ryan and Emily Stewart are getting married?"

What the hell did that have to do with anything? "Well, considering I got an invite to the wedding - yes."

Henry looked surprised. "You were invited?"

"Jealous?"

He snorted. "Please. It's soon though, right? They're fast workers."

"They didn't waste any time," Reid agreed, because it was a thought that he'd had before.

"Maybe she's pregnant," Henry suggested. They shared a look of mutual acknowledgement, then realised exactly what they were doing. "Anyway!" he said suddenly. "When Vienna heard about the wedding, she thought a celebration of love and fidelity sounded like a great idea, so..."

Ugh, not the most stupidly romantic event ever. "Don't tell me you're renewing your vows?" Seriously, what was the point of getting married to the same person twice? Mind you, in Oakdale at least there was usually a divorce in-between.

"Not an official renewal," Henry told him, "more like a big party, really, celebrating our relationship and how much we love each other."

"Wow," Reid remarked, "that sounds like a truly hideous event." Who would want to stand there for hours on end, watching those two go on about how wonderful they were?

Henry shrugged, for once not bothered by Reid's comment. "Vienna said I should invite you."

Reid couldn't help but make a face. In fact, he may have made it even more over-exaggerated than usual. "Why would she do something as crazy as _that?_ "

He shook his head, looking bewildered. "She seems to think that we're... _friends_ or something."

What was it with people thinking that? Reid studied Henry contemplatively. "Luke is under a similar misapprehension."

"Must be something in the water," Henry explained, than quickly moved on. "Anyway, Vienna said I should invite you; I've invited you. My work here is done." He turned to walk away...

...and then, damn it, without even really knowing _why_ , Reid called out after him. "This party..."

Pausing, Henry turned back to face him. "What about it?"

There was really only one question to ask. "Will there be...food?"

"It's a party," Henry rolled his eyes, "we run a diner. Of _course_ there will be food."

Hmm, and if it was diner food, it'd be particularly good food... "When is it?"

"Saturday after next. In _Metro_."

Nodding, Reid then shrugged. "Well, I'm an incredibly busy man, but if there's nothing else to do and there's going to be food...I'll keep it in mind."

"I probably won't even notice if you're there," Henry retorted, and then strode away with his head held high.

Reid smirked as he watched him.

The smirk was not in force as he walked into Christina Lloyd's office.

"Yes, I know," she began before he even reached her desk, "I saw the latest set of results you so generously e-mailed me - excellent work, as always."

"So?" he urged. "Tell Bob I'm fit for surgery already."

"Unfortunately," she sighed, "it's not that simple. The Board have approached me."

Reid frowned. "What the hell for?"

"It seems that - for _some_ reason," she gave him a knowing look, "they want to be one hundred per cent sure that their star neurosurgeon is up to the job. I've been told that I have to be even more thorough than I would normally be."

Closing his eyes, Reid sunk down in the chair. Of _course_. Ego genuinely aside, Reid knew he had an impressive reputation in the medical field. They'd inevitably want to play on that, throw his name around, make him the headline star behind the new neuro-wing - but they had to be sure. Before they risked embarrassing themselves for a man who might potentially be out of action surgery-wise, they had to make absolutely sure there was no way he was going to let them down.

"Have I mentioned that I hate hospital politics?" he asked quietly.

Dr Lloyd chuckled quietly. "You agreed to play the game when you suggested the new wing in the first place," she told him, eyeing him sharply. She paused significantly. "I understand that you're very good at chess."

Reid stared back at her.

_Beat them at their own game._

Unfortunately, the only way to beat them at their own game was to do exactly what they wanted, but really piss them off in the process.

He stood up. "In two days," he told her, "I'm supposed to attend that God-awful function Jennifer Nicholson herself asked me to attend. What do you say to an eighteen-hour practise surgery on the same day that I absolutely can't get out of?"

She regarded him with a small smile. "I say...checkmate."

*

There'd been little problem reorganising his schedule for that day - as far as Bob was concerned, the sooner Reid was able to operate, the better - and when he got back to the apartment Luke was there, attempting to cook something that might have been beans.

But then maybe it was ground beef. It was hard to tell.

"I don't understand," Luke said, standing by the stove as Reid stared in distaste at whatever it was he was cooking. "You've practised like - a dozen surgeries or something, right? Each one of them brilliantly. Why won't they just certify you already?"

"Politics," he shrugged, "I'm the big fish in their little pond. They want to turn me into their lapdog. Is that supposed to be sticking to the bottom like that?" It didn't look particularly appetising.

"Full of yourself, much?" Luke asked. "And yes, it's part of the recipe," he added, fooling no one.

"Facts are facts," Reid argued, sipping his glass of water. "They just want to make sure that, if the neuro-wing goes ahead, I'll play ball. As opposed to playing with your balls," he winked.

Luke rolled his eyes. "In that case, they _really_ don't know you at all. Trust you to make a point by putting yourself through a gruelling eighteen-hour surgery." Reid nodded in acknowledgement. "Are you sure it won't piss them off enough to make them just say no to the new wing at all?"

"It's a potential risk," Reid conceded, "but with all the benefits the wing can bring, I can't see it being a big one. In any case, we have to show them from the start that we're willing to compromise, but we're not going to let them screw us six ways from Sunday - and not in the good way. It's all about power."

"Anything I can do to help?" Luke continued, obviously eager to assist in some way - even if it was something that might turn out to be morally dubious.

"I got it for now, but," he leaned in, pressing a kiss to Luke's cheek, "if it changes I'll let you know. Thanks." Just as Luke smiled at him, a large blob of something brown propelled itself out of the pan, just barely missing them.

They looked at each other.

Reid touched his shoulder. "I'll call for take-out."

"Yeah," Luke said morosely, and turned off the heat.

Later that night, as they got ready for bed, Reid remembered something. "Hey, you wanna hear something funny?"

"What?" Luke called out from the bathroom, where - judging by the sounds he was making - he was busy clipping his fingernails.

Reid pulled back the covers on the bed. "Hank invited me to some 'celebration of their love' event for him and Paris."

Luke had obviously learnt by now to not even waste his breath trying to correct him. "Why is that funny?" he called back. "I think it's nice."

Grabbing a pillow, Reid smacked some life back into it. "Me?" he asked. " _Me_ being invited to a celebration of love?" Tossing the pillow back down, he turned to see Luke standing there.

He was smiling. "Maybe," Luke began, "now that they know you're in love, they think you can handle it."

Reid placed his arms over Luke's shoulders. "Technically, you're the only one I've told I'm in love."

"Trust me, it's blatantly obvious for everyone to see," Luke announced, grinning as he bussed a kiss against Reid's lips. "In any case," he continued, slipping out from Reid's arms and moving to turn the overhead light off, "we both know the real reason he invited you."

"Oh?" he asked, flicking the lamp on.

"You two are BFFs!" he grinned, teasing as he walked back across the room. "You totally want to do everything together."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Reid retorted, slipping under the covers, watching as Luke paused by the chest of drawers, rummaging through the drawer he'd claimed as his own.

Reid glanced towards the closet. Shifted in bed. Looked back at Luke again, who'd victoriously found the pair of socks he'd been looking for.

Reid didn't speak again until Luke was sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning down to tug his socks on. "You know what would make the closet look better?"

Luke sat up, surprised. "Wow, you actually want to decorate something?"

He supposed it was a form of decoration. "I just think the contents of my closet would look much better if the contents of your closet were there, too."

Freezing for a few moments, Luke then blinked. "Did you just ask me to move in with you?"

"You're here all the time anyway," Reid pointed out, his palms feeling sweaty in a way they never did during surgery, "you already have your own key, half the stuff in the drawers belongs to you; I sure as hell don't need any of that hair-styling crap that's cluttering up the bathroom-"

"Reid," Luke interrupted, moving again, quickly crawling across the bed until he was straddling Reid's lap, "I wasn't asking you to convince me." His lips twitched, turning upward. "I'm already convinced," he admitted softly, "I'd love to move in with you." After an enthusiastic kiss, Luke settled under the covers with him, absently tapping his hand against Reid's chest. Unsurprisingly, he was starting to worry. "Do you think it's too fast?" he asked seriously. "I mean, for us to move in together?"

"Everything about this relationship has been too fast," Reid argued, "but it seems to work. As least neither one of us is pregnant," he added, which made Luke give him an odd look. "Never mind."

Luke continued his tapping. "My family will probably...no, will absolutely want to throw us some kind of party, you know. They've been pretty good about giving me my own space, I have to say - I even managed to talk them out of throwing a house warming party for you."

"Thank God for small mercies."

Luke smacked his chest lightly. "But the two of us moving in together?"

Reid thought about what he knew about Luke's family. "Yeah, there's no way of getting out of this one."

"Exactly."

Reid pondered the dilemma. "I guess it's kind of a once in a lifetime event. For me, especially. It should be celebrated."

Propping himself up, Luke regarded him seriously. "That's very...accepting of you."

"You must be having an effect on me," Reid shrugged, then waited deliberately. "Besides, I'll make sure I get an urgent page from the hospital just before festivities are set to start."

Shaking his head, Luke shoved him playfully. "There's the man I know and love, despite myself."

"There's the man you know and love _and_ are moving in with," Reid pointed out.

Leaning in close, Luke smiled as he pressed their noses together, holding Reid's gaze. "Yeah. How did that happen?"

"I have no freaking clue," Reid retorted, pulling him in for a kiss.

*

If he were honest, Reid was actually glad having to perform the eighteen-hour surgery, because as much as he wanted to get back to performing real surgeries, he also wanted to make absolutely sure he was fit to return to the OR. Although he'd performed excellently on all his previous trials, an eighteen-hour surgery would be a real test of the state of his hands.

He didn't foresee any problems; hadn't even had so much as a tremor so far when he was grasping the instruments. But when it came to performing neurosurgery, it was definitely a case of better safe than sorry.

Luke kissed him before he went in, Bob wished him luck, and then he was effectively on his own for the next eighteen hours (Henry had been warned to stay the hell away from the hospital). The time - as always in surgery - was a beguiling mix of feeling like it passed in seconds and years, all at once. Reid knew all about how the passing of time was processed in the brain; could even explain the theory behind how it worked, why sometimes it felt like mere seconds and other times it felt endless.

But he still couldn't explain why, when he was performing surgery, it felt like both at once.

The buzz wasn't the same as a real surgery, but he still felt the rush when the 'patient' suffered a cardiac arrest and Reid managed to save the patient and remove the rest of the tumour wrapped around her brain stem.

Eighteen hours after he went in he stepped out of the room, exhausted and triumphant. As always after long surgeries, his body ached in a variety of places - his neck and shoulders, for holding that awkward, bent-over pose for so long; his legs, for keeping his body up-right for so long.

And at this particular moment in time - his bladder.

After gratefully relieving himself, Reid slowly made his way back to the staff room. Being 3a.m. there were less people around, so Reid thankfully didn't have to put up with anyone trying to converse with him. Yawning as he pushed open the door, he paused with his mouth open mid-yawn when he saw Luke sleeping on the sofa in the corner of the room. Reid knew that sofa well, and it wasn't particularly comfortable.

Shaking his head, he stepped further into the room and wondered if Bob had actually given him permission, or Luke had just planted himself there regardless. Either possibility seemed equally likely.

Changing out of his scrubs, Reid then perched himself on the same end of the sofa as Luke's legs, eagerly gulped down the contents of the bottle of water sitting on the table in front of him, then wolfed down a banana from the selection of fruit Luke had obviously brought with him.

The fact that he was actually in a relationship was amazing enough, but the fact that the person he was in the relationship with was someone as thoughtful as Luke? _Really_ amazing.

Shifting further up the edge of the sofa, he watched Luke's sleeping form for a while until he finally reached out a hand, brushing that stupid hair back from his forehead. Luke stirred, making a quiet, unidentifiable noise.

"Thanks for the supplies," Reid told him.

Stirring some more, Luke's body shifted slightly as he blinked open his eyes. His gaze took a few moments to focus, and when he recognised Reid he broke out into a sleepy smile. "Hey." A few seconds later, his brain must have processed where he was and exactly what was going on. "Oh. Oh!" Suddenly looking a lot more awake, he sat up, grabbing Reid's arms. "How did it go?"

"Brilliantly, of course," he shrugged.

"That's great!" Luke enthused. "Although...you don't seem very excited."

"It's 3 o'clock in the morning," Reid pointed out, "and I've been working for eighteen hours straight."

"Good point," Luke admitted. "Come on. Let's get you home to a nice, comfortable bed."

Man, that really sounded good. "Deal." Getting to his feet, Reid stepped away from the sofa and Luke got to his feet himself. Standing up, he made a sound that indicated he was in pain somewhere.

"Ugh," he complained, a hand reaching behind him to touch his lower back, "that thing is so uncomfortable."

"I'd offer to help you work it out when we get home, but I just don't have the energy," Reid replied truthfully. Chuckling, Luke carefully bent over, picking up the rest of the fruit - an apple and a bunch of grapes. "Thanks for the supplies," Reid repeated, in case it'd been missed the first time.

"No problem," Luke said warmly, straightening and covering the few steps over to Reid, pressing a kiss to his lips.

Reid watched his face closely. "You know you can't do this every time I have a long surgery, right?"

"I know," Luke replied honestly, "but this one is important to your career, and I'm practising my role of caring, supportive partner."

"Please, like you need practise," Reid retorted, hooking an arm around Luke's shoulder, guiding him out of the room.

"No, but I want to look the part, want us to look _steady_ when I tell my family I'm moving in with you already."

God, Luke and his family issues. It was way too early in the morning to be dealing with them right now. "We are steady," Reid argued as they left the room, Luke's hand resting against Reid's lower back, "whether they see it or not. And they promised to back off, right? You even said yourself that they've been better about that crap."

"They have," Luke agreed, "I guess I still just...worry. I probably always will."

Yeah, Reid was pretty sure of that. "Look, they may have concerns. They might bitch and complain. But you and I both know they don't have a leg to stand on when it comes to potentially reckless behaviour. And when they see how gloriously happy me and my awesome skills in the sack make you, they'll stop worrying." He waved at a passing nurse, who gave him an odd look. "Hiya."

"Yes, because it's _all_ about your skills in the sack," Luke retorted.

"Glad we're agreed," Reid nodded, and led him out of the hospital.

When he checked his messages the next morning, he had one waiting for him from Jennifer Nicholson, seeming quite annoyed that he hadn't attended her little soiree. Reid called her back, quite convincingly explaining that he'd simply been doing what he'd been asked to do to safely continue with his career. He'd had no choice in the matter.

It was perhaps not the most mature response - okay, it definitely wasn't the most mature response - but if he and Luke were going to do this, they sure as hell weren't going to do it by kowtowing to every whim of any member of the Hospital Board. He'd had enough of that with Barbara, and he knew Luke agreed with him. They'd make compromises, absolutely, but Reid was Reid and Luke was Luke, and they weren't changing for anyone.

Fortunately, Reid had to work, so he wasn't there when Luke broke the news about moving in together to his family. He was, however, there when it came to actually moving Luke's belongings. Lily was doing only a half-decent job of looking happy for them, but at least she didn't actually say anything to that effect - although every time Reid accidentally overheard them talking quietly to each other, it seemed she was giving Luke advice about how to keep a partner happy.

Reid really hoped Luke didn't take any of the advice to heart, because as much as Lily had been accepting of Reid and thus he didn't entirely hate her, he did still kind of hate her for how much her crappy relationship skills had hurt Luke over the years.

Speaking of crappy relationship skills, Holden - long since able to get around on his own two feet - openly declared his happiness for them, although he gave them a protracted speech about how a relationship took a lot of commitment and hard work. Once again, Reid had to forcibly keep his mouth shut to avoid saying anything about the state of Holden's own relationship.

Emma seemed the happiest out of all of them, enthusing over how wonderful this was, how well they complimented each other and how they'd obviously be happy together forever. She then gave them cookies.

Reid liked Emma a lot.

The kids were a tougher deal, wanting to be happy because Luke was happy, but sad that he was moving out again. Faith, of course, was a different matter altogether, pointing out that he was never at home anymore anyway, so she'd hardly notice any difference. Reid had to admit that she had a point.

Dealing with all the family drama and 'advice' took a considerable amount of time - packing up Luke's belongings didn't. They did have to drive from the farm to the townhouse to get everything, but when Reid finally studied the boxes in the back of Luke's car, he realised something.

"You don't have much stuff."

Luke, who had just emerged from the townhouse carrying a winter coat, proceeded to stuff it into the open trunk. "Well, some of my stuff is already at the apartment. And it's not like I need to bring any dishes or cutlery," he pointed out, "you've got all that basic stuff already."

Even taking that into consideration, it still didn't seem like much. Luke wasn't like him. Luke was all...sentimental, enjoying remembering fond memories of good times. He had a few photo albums, CDs and a couple of personal mementos - mostly books he'd written in, apparently - but everything else appeared to be clothes ("Stripes, Luke, endless stripes. Try some variety, sometimes."). "Just surprised, that's all," he explained, "I would've thought that, you know, with you being _you_ , you would've kept some reminder of every important moment in your life."

"Most of the important moments in my life were bad ones," he reminded, a point Reid hadn't considered. "At least until you," he added, managing to flush slightly as he glanced over at him. Reid had no idea how he still managed to do that. "But, to be honest..." he sighed, fiddling with the cardboard flap of the box nearest him in the truck. "With the way my parents were, I learned pretty quickly growing up that you never knew where you were going to stay from one week to the next - the house or the farm. So I learned to only keep the stuff that really mattered, so it was easy to take it with me wherever I went." As if proving a point, he folded the flap of the box back and rummaged around inside for a few moments, before pulling out a familiar looking object.

Well, hell. He'd been looking for that. He'd brought a large selection of pens to the diner that day, but in the end that was the one he'd actually used. "Is that-?"

"It's the pen you used to fill in your application form in the diner. I nearly swiped your straw, too, then figured that not only was it totally girly, but it was also totally gross."

"You know, taking the pen was pretty damn girly, too," Reid pointed out, watching him.

"God, I know," Luke shook his head wryly. "I tried to tell myself at the time that it was just because I liked the pen and you probably would've said no if I'd asked to keep it. I didn't really buy it," he admitted. "I used to feel so guilty that I was still with Noah but kept thinking about you."

That sounded like Luke. "Well, I, for one," he stepped closer deliberately, making Luke look towards him, "am glad you couldn't stop thinking about me. I mean, apart from the fact that I am pretty much irresistible."

"Yeah, that's the reason," Luke grinned slowly, leaning in until Reid wrapped an arm around him loosely. "I'm glad, too. We wouldn't be here now if you weren't so 'irresistible'."

"Yeah, standing outside your parent's second home while you load up the car with a disturbingly small amount of boxes because neither one of them could keep it in their pants long enough to-"

"Yes, yes, I get the point," Luke interrupted, "life sucks and then we die. But there is _some_ fun stuff in between," he reminded, squeezing Reid's sides lightly.

"There is?" he asked deliberately. "Remind me."

Smiling, Luke leant in and did just that.

*

Two frustrating days later, Bob walked into Reid's office to deliver two pieces of good news.

Reid was dialling the phone before Bob had even left.

"You're fully re-instated?" Luke asked, sounding thrilled.

"Effective immediately," Reid replied with smug satisfaction.

"And they said yes?" Luke asked, shocked. "To _everything?_ "

"Well, with you funding it, it's not gonna cost them anything."

"Reid, stop underplaying this. This is _huge_ and I know you're thrilled. I know I am! Oh my God, I can't believe we're going to do this."

His enthusiasm was actually contagious and it was difficult to remain his usual restrained self. "It is kind of amazing," he admitted.

"When are you coming home?" Luke suddenly demanded. "We need to celebrate."

"I'll get away as soon as I can," he replied, "but the Head of the new neuro-wing can't just take off whenever he feels like it, you know. This'll mean a lot of changes. You know that, right?" They had discussed it, but it was worth talking about again.

"I know," Luke confirmed, "it's going to be a big adjustment for both of us." Reid wasn't going to be at home anywhere near as much as he had been for weeks now - and neither was Luke. "I'm not looking forward to the first time your pager goes off when we're in the middle of making love."

"If we even have time to have sex," he admitted.

"Trust me," Luke said immediately, "we'll find the time."

Yeah, he was totally right. "Being interrupted in the middle of sex is one of the down sides of being in a relationship that no one warned me about. We don't even have kids."

"I'd just like to point out," Luke said calmly, "that _you're_ the one bringing up kids."

And on that note... "I'd better go; I have an important phone call to make."

Luke chuckled. "I have to admit, it is kind of...weird."

"What's weird?"

"Everything we've been working toward, this huge deal...and I found out over the phone. We're not even in the same room at the moment. I dunno, it's just kind of a let down."

Trust Luke to miss the drama. "Believe me, soon you'll be so hip deep in paperwork you'll forget all about how you found out. That's the kind of crap that doesn't matter."

Luke thought over it. "Yeah, I guess. The important thing is that we're actually doing this," he sounded like he was nodding decisively - Reid wasn't sure how anyone could even sound like they were nodding decisively, but it happened just the same. "Go, Mr Head of the New Neuro-Wing. Tonight we celebrate."

"And tomorrow, we start working our asses off." He paused. "Love you."

Luke sounded extraordinarily happy when he replied. "I love you, too." And then _he_ paused. "Oh my God, I can't believe we're doing this!"

Shaking his head in amusement, Reid ended the call and then opened a program on his computer. A few moments later he found the number he was looking for, picked the phone back up, and dialled.

"Mr Price? It's Dr Oliver. When's the soonest that wife of yours can use her mad driving skills to get you to Oakdale?"

*

A few days later, Reid found himself doing something he never, ever thought he'd let himself be talked into.

"Wait," Susie said, "just wait. Tell me, again, exactly what it is you're doing right now?"

Reid stared at himself in the mirror, at the cell phone on speaker he held in his hand.

At the guy with his head currently level to Reid's crotch. "Getting measured for a custom suit," he sighed. How had he let himself be talked into this? Well, he knew how: Luke.

"No, Sheryl," she said to her new assistant, who was apparently showing promise, "pass me the other...that's it, thanks." She focused her conversation back on Reid. "Why, exactly? I can't imagine it's an experience you're enjoying."

That was putting it mildly. That was also the moment Luke walked back into the room. "Because," Luke told Susie, walking towards the phone in Reid's hand, "he has exactly two suits - one light grey, one dark grey. And he has three different events to attend over the next two weeks. That just won't cut it. You'd think a guy on a neurosurgeon's salary would have a few more suits. Didn't you ever wear anything fancy for all the fundraising you did?"

"I rented," he shrugged. He missed those simple, carefree, Oakdale-free days.

"What about the figures from last year?" Susie asked randomly, before continuing, "Reid couldn't care less about clothes. He's more interested in just taking them off."

"Tell me something I don't know," Luke retorted and honestly, Reid wasn't a prude by any stretch of the imagination, but was that kind of inferring really necessary right now? His best friend and his boyfriend talking about his sex life just didn't sit comfortably.

"I am _right here_ ," Reid reminded them.

"We know that," Luke and Susie replied together.

He'd known introducing them would be a bad idea. When Oakdale's 'premier tailor' (how did Oakdale even have one, never mind a 'premier' tailor?) then accidentally-on-purpose stabbed him with a pin (Reid may have insulted the man's intelligence when they first arrived, crabby at being there at all), the frustration he'd barely been keeping in check bubbled over and he yanked his leg away and stepped - okay, stomped - off the wooden box he'd been standing on. "That's it!"

Luke actually stepped back. "What's it?"

Reid swung around to face him, gesturing emphatically in his direction with the phone. "I have moved here for you, changed jobs for you, am working with you, put up with this ridiculous town and your even more ridiculous family for you, but that's it! I do not need a damn monkey suit and I sure as hell don't need to stand around like a damn mannequin while a complete stranger fondles my balls!"

Marcel huffed his annoyance, still on his knees. "I am a _complete_ professional, and believe me when I say that you are _really_ not my type." Reid wanted to stab him in the neck with one of his stupid little pins.

Luke's surprise soon transformed into a small, knowing smile. "Finally," he said quietly.

What? "What?"

Luke nodded towards the phone still in Reid's hand. "Thanks, Susie."

"Anytime, Luke," her voice replied. "Call me later." As the call ended, Reid stared down in confusion at the phone in question.

"Would you excuse us, Marcel?" Luke asked, and after slowly getting up from his knees, Marcel nodded towards Luke and quietly left the room - but not without shooting Reid a glare.

"What the hell is going on?" Reid asked, trying to put together what he knew. Obviously, Luke and Susie had been talking to each other without Reid around.

That was a terrifying thought.

"You being an awesome boyfriend, that's what," Luke kept smiling as he slowly walked towards him.

"Well, that's hardly news," he replied automatically.

"No, it's not," Luke agreed, reaching out to take Reid's left hand. "Too awesome, though."

Reid just kept frowning. How was it possible to be _too_ awesome? "I don't get it."

Luke squeezed his hand. "Get changed back into your jeans."

After Reid had done so - extremely carefully, but still gouging his legs with pins in the process - Luke tugged him by the hand, leading him over to the side of the room until they were sitting side-by-side on the comfortable chairs provided. "It has not escaped my attention," Luke began carefully, "how much you've given up for me. How much you indulge me. How much you've done for me. How much you continue to do for me, even if you don't really want to."

Aww, man, he hated this crap. Reid looked away. "Luke, I-"

Touching Reid's chin with a gentle hand, Luke turned his face back towards him until they were looking at each other. "I'm not asking you to...talk about it. I know accepting how truly wonderful you are makes you uncomfortable."

Ugh, again? "Luke-"

"But the point I'm trying to make," he quickly pressed on, lowering his hand, "is that I believe that, in a relationship - and just in life in general, I guess - sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do. Whether because it's something that really _has_ to be done, or because you want to be a good partner - we all do it sometimes. And you do it more than most," he added with a soft smile.

Reid still didn't get it. "So...what's your point? I'm an awesome boyfriend?"

Luke regarded him a little sadly. "Reid, you've never said no to me. About anything. Ever." What the hell did that matter? "It's probably just the way you love," Luke continued, "trying to make me happy by giving me everything I want, whether or not you want the same thing. And that's so sweet and so, so loving - but Reid, you willingly let yourself be manhandled by a stranger into a monkey suit, when I know for a fact that you can't stand being touched by someone you don't know, that you could care less about what you wear to the wedding, or party, or housewarming. Because I asked you to."

Yeah, now he was definitely getting the point Luke was making. The problem was... "I don't know any other way to do it," he admitted quietly, "making you happy..." Yeah, he wasn't about to finish that sentence.

"I know," Luke got it anyway, nodding emotionally. "I feel the same way," he promised, "seeing you happy makes me happier than just about anything else on earth right now. I just...I just worry."

That was his default state. "Of course you do." Luke narrowed his eyes briefly in admonishment. Reid managed a brief smirk.

"I think it's important," Luke continued, "that if you really, really don't want to do something, you tell me. And I'll tell you, too. I don't want things to get...weird, because we're so intent on keeping each other happy that we keep forcing ourselves into doing things that we absolutely hate."

That sounded suspiciously like a man who was talking from personal experience. "Do you keep doing something you absolutely hate?"

"I wasn't talking about me," Luke said, eyeing him knowingly, "romantic camping excursions on the floor of our apartment?"

"That was okay," Reid said honestly, "for a one-time deal. Hell on my knees, though. So, basically," he concluded, realising this probably wasn't about him at all, "you started freaking out that _I'd_ freak out, to the point where you even manipulated me deliberately and brought Susie in on it to make _sure_ I'd freak out. Wow." He thought it over, taking in Luke's worried face. He really should've been angry. Mostly he was kind of impressed. "I was right."

"About what?" Luke asked.

"The Grimaldi side of you is hot. That said...wasn't this a way too complicated way of doing things? You've had no problem just talking to me when you've had concerns in the past."

"I know," Luke nodded cautiously. "I guess I was felt like I'd been doing that too much, lately. I know just launching into a conversation about our feelings isn't something you're comfortable with, so I thought this time-"

"You'd take the Grimaldi route?"

"I'd prefer that we call it the Walsh route," he admitted.

"Both equally sneaky," Reid confirmed. "There are two important things to be made clear: one, _always_ talk to me, rather than arrange these elaborate set-pieces, clever though they obviously are. No, I don't particularly care for talking things out, but given the choice I'd much rather do that." Given his background, Reid was kind of surprised this kind of thing hadn't happened more frequently. "Two: since you asked, I really, really don't want to go to our apartment-warming."

Chuckling, clearly relieved, Luke leaned into him. "Well, they're the ones who want to celebrate it. How about we let them in, then run off to spend the night at the farm?"

"I like the sound of that," Reid confirmed as he leaned in to meet Luke's mouth for a kiss. Frankly, Luke seemed just as excited about the idea and Reid couldn't blame him.

Informing Marcel that they wouldn't be needing his services - Reid suspected Luke had paid the man something anyway - they made their way to the hospital. Reid was on the late shift and wasn't due to start for a while yet, but with the neuro-wing to think about there was always something to do. The diversion to the tailor's had been a rare occurrence.

"Okay," Reid announced as they stepped into his office, "so I was thinking about your suggestion that the waiting room should be considered as carefully as the rest of the wing." They were still shopping around different companies to work on designing the blueprints with them, but they kept getting stuck on this subject.

Luke stood there watching, folding his arms across his chest. "If you're about to say anything other than, 'Luke, I changed my mind, I think it's a fantastic idea', I'm not interested."

God, he was infuriating. "Luke, I haven't changed my mind, but we might be able to meet at some common groun-"

When the door to his office opened they looked towards it, seeing Bob and Hughes Junior Junior stepping inside.

"Reid," Bob greeted happily, "just the man I'm looking for. How did things go at the tailors?" Reid hadn't mentioned anything about getting fitted for a suit and immediately looked at Luke suspiciously.

He flushed guiltily, shrugging. "I had to give some explanation about why you weren't going to be here as early as you usually are."

Reid then moved his gaze back to Bob. "So you were in on it too, old man?"

"I have no idea what you're referring to, Reid," Bob lied blatantly, "but more importantly, I have some good news."

That grabbed his interest. "More good news?" Reid asked. They already had just about everything they wanted - apart from every else sticking their noses into their business.

Bob nodded, clearly happy about something. "I'm pleased to inform you that we've finally found you an assistant. Someone who, I feel, will be more than a match for your exacting standards."

This _was_ good news. "Well, don't keep us in anticipation, you wily old fox. Who is it?"

Casey stepped forward, holding his hand out towards Reid. "It'll be a pleasure working with you, Dr O." He smirked.

Reid stared at the offered hand in horror. Then he stared at Luke in horror. Then he stared at Bob in horror. "Please tell me you're joking."

"Not at all. Casey is a bright young man, eager to prove himself. I think he'll do extremely well."

Unbelievable. "Has the Alzheimer's finally set in? You can't give me the Littlest Hughes just because he's your grandson! He has no experience! Don't I get a say in who my own assistant is?"

Not seeming in the least bit fazed by Reid's reaction, Bob shrugged. "As I recall, Reid, you told me that a man such as yourself was far too busy to spend any time searching for his own assistant." Yeah, he should've known that would come back to bite him in the ass. "Given the fact that I've done your job for you - no, you don't get any say in who your assistant is. Have a good day," he finished happily, the bastard, then calmly strode from the room.

Luke seemed to be doing a bad job of hiding his amusement. Reid glared at him. "You," he pointed at Casey, "do not touch _anything_ on my desk."

Casey frowned at him. "Well, how's that supposed to work? How else am I supposed to do my job?"

"I don't know, or care," Reid told him, "but it'll be someplace far, far away from here." Then it came to him. Picking the phone up from the desk, he speed-dialled Dallas.

"Susie Cole speakin-"

"It's Reid."

"Oh, hi! Did everything go okay-?"

"Yeah, I heard all about your little plan, but right now there's something more important to deal with." He glanced back up at Casey.

"Okay," she said seriously, "what is it?"

"Tell this numbskull how to do your job," he ordered, then thrust the phone into Casey's hand. Cricking his neck, he stepped towards Luke who patted his back consolingly.

"Give him a chance," Luke encouraged. "You never know, he might actually be...good."

Yeah, that sounded convincing. "You're his best friend and you don't even believe it."

"Well," Luke shrugged, "at the very least, with his new career field in mind, I think he'll take the job seriously and he'll probably learn a lot about-"

"Hey, Dr O," Casey interrupted, holding the phone out towards him, "this lady says to tell that you she's far too busy and important now to bow to your every whim."

Susie had never bowed to anyone's whim in her entire life. "She has time in her busy schedule to help Luke manipulate me but she doesn't have time to help me out with an actual professional dilemma?" How did that even make sense? "Also," he continued, "'lady'? This is not the correct way to take a message!"

And then his beeper sounded.

"Oh my God!" Luke exclaimed. "Your first emergency page! I feel kind of...ridiculously proud."

Ridiculous was the word. Reid glanced down at his beeper. "Incoming neuro-trauma."

"Go, go," Luke urged, "I'll take care of Casey."

Hopefully he meant 'take care of' in the 'sleeps with the fishes' kind of way. "Thanks," he replied, leaning in for a quick kiss.

"Good luck," Luke told him, even as he ran out through the door.

"Hey," Casey's voice echoed behind him, "if I'm working in here every day, I'm banning the boy kissing right here and now, okay?"

James Price was due to arrive next week, but this was Reid's first potential surgery of any kind since being re-certified. He'd be lying if he said his body didn't start to thrum with excitement as he rushed down to the ER.

The patient was just being pushed on a gurney into the ER as Reid arrived, and he quickly jogged up to the medic. "What have we got?"

"Drive-by," the medic replied, still pushing the gurney, "GSW to the side of head; bullet still embedded in the skull. 32-year-old male. Stopped breathing on his own two minutes ago, pulse is thready, pupils are..."

And as the medic kept talking and Reid ordered the patient to be taken straight to the OR, he managed to have a few seconds as he was scrubbing in to realise that even with annoying new assistants and ridiculous towns in the middle of nowhere and frustrating best friends and manipulative, worrying, incredible boyfriends...

He stepped into the OR, surgical mask in place, and looked down at the patient on the operating table.

Yeah.

He really did have everything.

"Okay, let's see what we can do."

~FINIS


End file.
